The Rogues
by Gage39
Summary: After the Rogues are apprehended in Metropolis the League is forced to see that not all criminals are evil while the Young Justice team interacts with a teenaged Pied Piper and attempts to persuade him to join them. Better than it sounds!
1. Captured

The Rogues

Chapter 1: Captured

* * *

Captain Cold-Leonard 'Len' Snart

Mirror Master-Sam Scudder

Captain Boomerang-Digger Harkness

Heatwave-Mick Rory

Weather Wizard-Mark Mardon

Pied Piper-Hartley Rathaway

* * *

Barry Allen couldn't remember the last time he had ever run this fast. He simply _had_ to reach the Watchtower if only to reassure him that it was nothing more than a joke. That would be just like Hal; telling Barry that the Justice League had arrested the Rogues because, really, he had to have known that Barry would overreact just like he was doing right now. It was laughable because there was no way that the Rogues would go to Metropolis and there was certainly no way they would let themselves get caught by the League. They had very strict rules about who caught them after all; Barry was the only one who knew about…he almost stumbled over his own feet as something occurred to him. Piper. If this wasn't a joke then that meant Piper was back in Central City all alone…no. It was all a joke; a really bad one but a joke nonetheless. And if it wasn't then he was going to ream out the League seven ways from Sunday.

* * *

Captain Cold looked at his surroundings uneasily. As unofficial leader of the Rogues and surrogate father to a thirteen-year-old boy he had often found himself in many uncomfortable (and awkward) situations but this was beginning to border on impossible. They were trapped on the fricking _Watchtower_ for crying out loud! Apparently Superman took offense at people coming to his city and trying to rob it but still. It was only an armored car for Pete's sake! It wasn't like they had been going after Kryptonite but, now that he thought about it, that sounded like something he could really use right about now.

"Sam, you ok?" he called.

Mirror Master groaned from the cell across him and probably would have flipped him one if his eyes hadn't been covered by a special visor that prevented him from seeing anything. Apparently they thought that if he couldn't see it then he couldn't jump through it. Idiots. All he needed to know was _where_ a reflective surface was and then he would be gone, something that one of the others could easily provide him with by simply telling him.

"I'll take that as a yes. Digger?"

The Australian responded by letting out a stream of curses that, had they been at home, would have earned him a disapproving stare and several smacks on the back of the head. "I don't like Superman," Captain Boomerang muttered sulkily.

"Hear, hear," Heatwave called out heartily.

"Wonder Woman was rather easy on the eyes but her fists pack quite a punch," Weather Wizard sighed wistfully.

"Forget that," Cold growled. "There's no way out for us this time."

"Sure there is," Sam sat up on his bunk. "We're the Rogues for crying out loud! We've been in tougher situations than this and we've always escaped."

He didn't care if Sam could see him or not; Cold glowered at the other man. "We are in the Watchtower," he said slowly. "Flash isn't here and we've left you-know-who all alone at the base."

"Bloody hell," Digger swore. "'e's going to be worried sick about us."

"What are we going to do?" for once Mick didn't argue with Cold.

"We've trained for this," Len Snart said simply. "Delta Tango Foxtrot."

"No!" Mark yelled. "Rogues stick together."

"We've got someone else who needs us more," Sam cut in, not liking Len's idea anymore than the rest of them.

"And we won't do him any good sitting in here," Len finished. "So first opportunity then?"

"Agreed," Digger sighed heavily.

"I don't like it," Mark stated but didn't voice any further protests.

* * *

"Any idea who they're talking about?" Wonder Woman asked.

Batman shook his head. "None of my records indicate a sixth member of the Rogues. J'onn, have you been able to get anything?"

The green Martian looked slightly ill as he said, "Whenever I try all I see are some rather unsettling images of naked woman and us dead."

"We could always set them free," Green Lantern suggested, "plant tracers and bugs on them or even tag along invisible."

Batman frowned as he considered the idea. "It's a risk," he said at last, "but if they do have another member that we don't know about then it's entirely possible that he could break them out of here, seeing as how we don't know his skill set. Plus they're more likely to say what they were doing there if they don't even realize we're there. J'onn, can you make us invisible to them?"

The Martian considered the request then nodded. "I'll do my best," he promised. "By the time they realize that we're there we'll have the advantage."

"Should we wait for Flash?" Green Lantern asked hesitantly. "I mean they are his Rogues after all, they might talk to him."

"Please tell me it's a joke," Flash chose to make his presence known by skidding to a stop in front of Batman. Then he saw the monitors and groaned. "You guys did. Cold is never going to forgive me for this!" he moaned.

"He's your archnemesis," Superman said slowly. "You're _supposed_ to capture them."

"We're all dead meat," Flash said to no one in particular. "I am so totally dead right now that it's not even funny."

"Were you aware of the fact that they have a sixth member?" Batman decided that it would probably be more productive to interrupt Flash's little rant than actually listen to it.

Flash went white as a sheet. "What…what do you know about him?" he stammered.

"Nothing," Wonder Woman said. "Other than the fact that they're worried about him and are more than likely planning an escape."

"Criminal scum like them aren't worried about anyone other than themselves," Superman stated matter of factly.

Flash snorted derisively. "Not everyone is like Luthor," he hissed. "Those guys are a _family_ and you just messed with them. You're never going to get off their hate list now."

"I'm not worried," Superman crossed his arms and glared.

"You should be," Flash's voice was deadly serious as he looked the man of steel in the eye. "Someone once mugged the Weather Wizard and two days later was found on the steps of the Central City police station encased in a block of ice and covered in burns and frostbite. To this day that man will not step foot in either Central or Keystone. In fact he lives about twenty hours away, come to think of it."

"They've never faced us before," Wonder Woman sounded confident, Green Lantern didn't look so sure, having heard several stories from Flash.

Barry just shook his head, not bothering to comment on her ridiculous (to him that is) statement. Instead he asked, "Any idea why they were in Metropolis?"

"None," Batman frowned. "We were considering letting them go and just following them back to their headquarters…"

He was cut off by the sound of laughter as Barry tried not to choke on his own breath. Once he had finally regained control of himself he said, "You do know that they would probably go through the Mirror Dimension, right? And believe you me when I say that place is not fun. It throws off all perceptions and makes everything spin plus everything is backwards in there. The real world will seem backwards that is," he corrected. "But if you guys really want to go through with it then I won't stop you; just know that I'm not going to help you take them down when we get there but I will try and talk them out of killing you."

Batman scowled but sensed that was the best answer they were going to get from the scarlet speedster. So he nodded and said, "Let's take them to the interrogation room and see if we can give them an opportunity to escape."

Flash just shook his head but followed them anyways as they left the room.

* * *

Captain Cold knew something was up when the Justice League came in, Flash making funny hand motions. Cold just raised an eyebrow until he realized that it was a speedster's version of sign language. They really needed to teach that man to slow his hands down. A lot. However, he did manage to figure out that the League was going to let them escape and follow them back to the base. Cold's frown deepened. As much as he hated the thought of leading these…goons back to Piper he was convinced that Barry would allow no harm to come to the boy plus Piper had been itching to try out his hypnosis flute on someone other than his fellow Rogues. A predator's smile then crossed his face, alerting his fellow captives that something was up. They glanced warily at each other then decided to follow their leader's example, all save Sam who still couldn't see.

"What do you want?" Cold did his best to sound intimidating, unconsciously squaring his shoulders and narrowing his pale blue eyes.

"To talk," Batman replied, opening the cell. "Don't try anything funny," he warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Cold smirked. "Sam, don't tell one of your jokes. We don't want the big scary Batman getting upset at us."

Both Green Lantern and Flash were fighting smiles while Batman's scowl grew, if such a thing were even possible.

"Wouldn't dream of it, boss," obviously Sam had heard something in Cold's voice and had chosen to play his part until the time came.

The opportunity came less than a minute later after they had cleared the holding area. Batman nodded almost imperceptibly at Wonder Woman who stumbled, her grip on Cold's arm loosening. He immediately took advantage of it, thrusting his elbow into her stomach before leaping forward to tackle Green Lantern. Boomerang wrested free just in time and decided to help out Weather Wizard by raising both fists above his head and hitting Flash in the back of the neck. Superman turned and threw a punch at Heatwave who ducked, allowing the Kryptonian to shatter Sam's visor.

"Rogues, grab on," Cold yelled, as Sam saw his reflection in one of the Dark Knight's boomerangs.

_J'onn now,_ Batman thought as he just barely managed to catch Cold's ankle as the criminals dove through his utility belt. Seconds later the Watchtower was deserted as the Justice League and the Rogues entered the Mirror Universe.

* * *

A/N: So do you guys like it? I recently re-discovered the Pied Piper and found some really awesome fan fiction on here where the Rogues knew him as a teenager and just couldn't resist doing this story. I really hope you like it. Please read and review!


	2. Rogues Hideout

The Rogues

Chapter 2: The Rogues Hideout

It didn't take long for Batman to decide that he absolutely hated the Mirror Universe. Even though he logically knew that J'onn was keeping them cloaked via telepathy he was still worried that their reflections would be seen in the mirror or that the Rogues would realize they could no longer see the Justice League. But his fears were proven to be unfounded when they were, rather unceremoniously Batman thought, dumped on a cold, concrete floor. Standing up he took a quick look around. The room was pretty large and looked surprisingly homey. A big screen TV was in one corner with a couch, two chairs and a fireplace surrounding it. There were a few end tables and a coffee table, all with gadgets and tools scattered across them except for the coffee table which was decorated with more…normal items such as a picture smack dab in the middle of all the Rogues and someone else that Batman couldn't quite see and coasters, one of which had a half-full glass resting on it next to a sandwich with the crusts cut off. They themselves had emerged from a full-length mirror on the opposite side of the room next to a dartboard with Flash's grinning face on it. There were doors on either side of the room but they were both firmly closed, the last corner being shadowed slightly but not enough to hide the work bench there with half-finished musical instruments sitting neatly in a row.

One of the doors opened and a boy walked through. He couldn't have been any older than Robin and was wearing blue jeans and a green pullover. His long red hair swayed from side to side as he walked and his green eyes lit up when he spotted the Rogues. "You're back!" he cried delightedly, rushing forward only to stop mere inches from Captain Cold. "We've got rats," he informed the leader seriously, "and for once they're not mine," his eyes narrowed and he calmly looked Batman in the eyes.

"I know," Cold grinned then turned serious as he pushed the boy behind him. "You can come out now, Justice League."

Slightly startled, Martian Manhunter turned himself visible once more, along with the remaining League members. "How did you know?" he asked.

"We didn't," Mirror Master cried in delight.

"I heard your heartbeats," the boy peeked around from behind Cold long enough to say before retreating once more.

"Piper, go to your room," Cold ordered.

The boy pouted but turned to do as ordered when it happened. For all of his remarkable mental prowess even the Martian Manhunter couldn't always keep himself out of other people's minds and even though it was the slightest of brushes Piper screamed and fell to his knees.

At a speed rivaling even Barry's Cold ran to his side and grabbed his hands. "Piper?" he sounded worried.

Piper merely screamed again and tried to wrench himself free of the Rogue's grasp. "No it's just a dream! Just a dream!" tears were welling up in his eyes now and the other Rogues immediately took offensive positions as they glared at the Justice League in an attempt to discover which one was responsible.

"What's wrong?" Cold's voice was firm as he tried to look the boy in the eye.

"Just a dream. Just a dream. Didn't really happen," the boy repeated over and over like a mantra.

"Piper, what's a dream?"

"Blood so much blood. It hurt so bad, thought I was going to die," Piper muttered.

Cold paled and his grip on Piper's hands tightened. "Piper, where are you?"

"At the mansion please don't hurt me, Dad, I'll be good I promise."

Flash swore under his breath while Cold's jaw tightened. "Piper, listen to me. You're safe now, okay? You're not at the mansion anymore; you're _home,_ with us. You're not seven anymore, Piper. No one is going to hurt you; I promise. Have I ever lied to you before?"

Piper considered then shook his head. "N-no," he stammered. "Never."

"That's right," Cold soothed as he pulled the boy into a hug and gently rubbed his hair and back. "And I never will either. You're safe here and you always will be, ok?"

"Ok," Piper whispered as he hugged the Rogue back, his hands shaking. "But can you keep him out of my head?"

Cold stiffened and the Justice League winced. This was not going to be pretty. "Heatwave," Captain Cold said slowly. "The Martian's weakness is fire, correct?"

"That's what I heard," the pyromaniac grinned and not in a nice way.

"If he tries anything or if Piper so much as whimpers again, roast him."

"Sure thing, boss," Mick's smile was even scarier than his glare but J'onn still tried to defend himself.

"It was an accident," he said weakly. "I didn't mean to…"

"Can it," Cold growled as he slowly stood up, pulling Piper with him. "We'll be back in a minute. Keep an eye on them, boys."

"You got it," Captain Boomerang looked positively murderous as he fingered a boomerang Mirror Master had found in the Mirror Universe.

"Can I electrocute them?" Weather Wizard asked excitedly.

"We'll see," Cold said after some consideration. "Come on, Piper; let's go put on some of that wailing stuff you like to call music."

"It's the opera," Piper corrected, swiping at his eyes.

"My point exactly," Cold led the boy out of the room.

Batman really, really didn't feel comfortable letting his enemies out of his sight like that but, figured after J'onn's little stunt (accident or no) that they owed them this plus something told him that Cold wouldn't use the boy as a distraction.

Barry broke the tension by racing over to the couch and sitting down. "Dibs," he called, grabbing a random magazine and flipping through it.

"Hey that's mine," Mirror Master protested.

"You let Piper read this?" Flash held up the _Sports Illustrated,_ skepticism on his face.

Heatwave shot him a look. "We're talking about _Piper_ here."

"Good point," Barry agreed after a pause, putting it back down. He eyed the sandwich then apparently decided against it as he began fiddling with his fingers.

"We could take them all on and win," Wonder Woman suggested.

"Not after what J'onn did," Green Lantern said, obviously siding with Batman on the idea of letting Piper calm down before another confrontation.

"It was an accident," the Martian protested once again.

"How could that boy hear us?" Superman wondered.

"Piper is a very exceptional child," Boomerang said proudly.

Seconds later the sound of what Batman correctly identified as the score from an opera, poured through the building.

Weather Wizard cringed. "His taste in music is terrible though," he sighed. "But, unfortunately, that's the only way he'll calm down when he's upset."

"Or sleep for that matter," Mirror Master added, patting the mirror comfortingly.

"We've all got ear plugs," Boomerang sighed.

Cold walked back in, scowling once more. "The kid's calm, for now," he added darkly. "I had to promise to take him clothes shopping later though," he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Busy!" Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, Heatwave and Weather Wizard all said at once.

"Wimps," Cold pulled out one of his freeze guns and began inspecting it. "Why don't we all sit down and talk about this like gentlemen? I'd hate for Piper to have to be disturbed after all that trouble we just went through getting him settled back down."

"Agreed," Batman said.

After several uncomfortable looks and awkward shuffling they finally managed to get situated. Heatwave claimed the chair next to the fireplace while Cold took the other one, forcing the League members and other Rogues to argue quietly over seating arrangements until Captain Boomerang and Batman were standing in a corner while Superman floated in the air along with Weather Wizard. Mirror Master sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a small mirror in his lap as Green Lantern made himself an armchair to sit in and Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter sat on the couch next to Flash.

"Who is that child?" Batman broke the silence. He wouldn't have minded knowing why they were in Metropolis but, seeing the child had thrown him for a loop especially since Flash seemed to know him. "And how old is he?"

Cold eyed him warily before saying, "Piper is thirteen and he is a Rogue. End of story."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "How did a teenager wind up becoming one of you? I might not keep up with Central City that much but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered seeing him if he got arrested."

"Piper's not allowed to go with us," Captain Boomerang said gruffly. "We all agreed that the lad had to be at least eighteen and even then we would try to talk him out of it."

The other Rogues (and Flash) nodded in agreement.

"Piper chose to come and live with us," Cold said. "He had plenty of other options and heaven knows we gave 'em all to him but the decision was his. He's welcome to leave whenever he wants to and he knows that. We've even got the Flash on speed-dial should he ever change his mind."

The League all turned to glare at Barry who sank down further in his seat. "What?" he protested weakly. "I've talked to him several times before and he genuinely wants to be here. You know I would never leave a child in a bad situation if I could help it and I believe that the Rogues are the best place for him to be now."

"Why were you in Metropolis?" Superman had obviously gotten tired of dancing around the subject.

"Yeah," Flash broke in. "You guys have hardly pulled any jobs since Piper came to live with you."

The Rogues all scowled but in the end, as usual, it was Captain Cold who spoke. "When Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller both have your names and secrets it's best not to piss them off."

"Even if they want you to spy on each other," Heatwave sighed.

"Well we see how great we did today earning their trust," Mirror Master said sarcastically.

"I don't want a bomb in my neck," Weather Wizard said seriously.

"More importantly we don't want one in the kid's neck," Boomerang grumbled.

"Waller threatened Piper?" now Barry's eyes were glinting as he sat straight up.

"Yep," Cold's face darkened once more. "That…woman is very lucky we weren't armed when she found us. Last time I go _anywhere_ without one of my freeze guns."

"See!" Barry said triumphantly. "I told you guys that they weren't all that bad."

"But why were you robbing that particular armored car?" Wonder Woman asked. "What was so special about it?"

"Dunno," Weather Wizard shrugged his shoulders, twirling his wand in his fingers. "Luthor just said rob that one."

"We were probably just a distraction," Cold grunted. "Shame. We coulda used that money to pay for Piper's little shopping trip I have to take him on."

"At the very least we could have found him a new computer," Heatwave said. "His old one's starting to smoke."

"That's because of those damn rats," Boomerang hissed. "He should know better than to let them chew on the wires like that."

"Or could just because we found it at a junkyard two years ago and it was pretty old then," Weather Wizard sighed. "He's not going to be happy about us going to jail."

As Batman sat there listening he decided that it sounded more like the kind of bickering a family would do over dinner, not five hardened criminals with rap sheets longer than his cape. He was starting to understand why Barry had been so upset earlier at the Watchtower; it wasn't because they had arrested his enemies but because they were splitting up a family. And (according to them at least) it hadn't entirely been their fault. They seemed to genuinely care about Piper and, besides, he had heard about Waller's little habit of sticking bombs in people's necks then making them do her dirty work. The only reason he had never interfered before was because he didn't have enough evidence as everyone who crossed her usually died. But these five men were still alive so maybe, just maybe, they would be willing to help him as long as he helped them. "Do you have bombs in your necks now?" he asked abruptly.

"No," Cold said slowly. "She was too afraid that Luthor would find them plus she thought that threatening Piper would be all the incentive that we would need."

Batman heaved a sigh. What he was about to do was violating everything that he had ever believed in but he didn't really have much of a choice. "I want to offer you a deal."

Startled, the Rogues and Justice League exchanged puzzled glances then Captain Cold turned to the dark knight. "We're listening."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews earlier! I hope you guys like this chapter just as much if not more because Piper's finally in it! Yay!

A/N/N: I can't guarantee that another chapter will be up tomorrow night cuz my work schedule is pretty hectic but I will do my best. No promises! Please read and review!


	3. Deal With The Devil

The Rogues

Chapter 3: Deal With The Devil

"You want to keep Piper safe, correct?" Batman confirmed.

Boomerang nodded. "Hell, yeah. He might not be blood but he's still our kid!"

"Yes we do," Cold said simply.

"I want to take down both Waller and Luthor if at all possible," Batman said. "And since they've already approached the five of you I believe we can use that to our advantage. The five of you will continue to gather information against both parties and relay that information to me."

"And what do we get in exchange?" Heatwave asked.

"Your freedom," Batman replied.

"You're asking us to betray both Amanda Waller and Lex Luthor and all we get is freedom?" Mirror Master snorted derisively.

"Just how stupid do you think we are?" Weather Wizard laughed. "What good is our freedom if we're dead?"

"Wizard's got a point," Cold stated. "Us being dead is certainly not going to stop them from coming after Piper and trying to kill him."

"Won't they get an unpleasant surprise," Mirror Master muttered then flushed when the Rogues turned to glare at him.

"What do you want?" Batman asked.

"A clean slate," Cold replied promptly. "For all of us and Piper goes to college. If he wants to that is. I doubt he ever will but we want him to be able to have that option."

"A clean slate?" Green Lantern raised an eyebrow.

"Our records wiped clean," Heatwave said as if explaining something to a child.

"Yeah," Boomerang chimed in. "We want to be able to get decent jobs somewhere so we can earn more money to take care of Piper. Working at the docks is not exactly conducive to spoiling a thirteen-year-old."

"Well at least they don't ask for our ids," Weather Wizard grumbled. "And we get paid in cash."

"Where exactly are you planning on working?" Barry asked. "Everybody already knows your faces here; a clean slate won't matter, they still won't hire you."

Cold scowled. "We can work…I don't know where," he admitted.

Batman sighed. This just wasn't his day apparently. "Wayne Enterprises has been thinking of putting an R&D facility here, their way of branching out. I know Bruce Wayne; he won't have a problem hiring you. After all, you had to be pretty smart to design your weapons and costumes."

"What about gays?" Mirror Master asked.

"What about them?" Superman asked.

"Piper is gay," Captain Boomerang explained. "We just want to make sure the kid'll have somewhere to work when he gets older without being afraid of getting fired for his uh, sexual preferences."

"I can assure you that Bruce Wayne is nothing if not…open-minded," Batman said stiffly. "Piper will have a job there when he gets older if he wants. But you have to do this mission first."

The Rogues exchanged glances before reluctantly nodding. "We get three days first," Cold spoke up. "That way we can tell Piper we're going to be gone and we can make arrangements for him a place to stay."

"What about Mount Justice?" J'onn suggested. "I'm sure the other children would enjoy having someone new there."

"It's a great idea," Wonder Woman agreed.

Once again the Rogues looked at each other. "Fine," Cold sighed. "But only if he agrees. Oh and we'll need some money. I promised the kid I'd take him shopping tomorrow and you just eliminated our source of income."

Batman's eyes narrowed, certain he was being played. "I will pay for everything if Flash and I can tag along."

"Batman's paying?" Heatwave said excitedly. "I'm definitely going!"

"Batman's paying for what?" Piper asked, as he entered the room, a rat perched on his shoulder, nibbling on a piece of cheese.

"Our shopping trip tomorrow," Mirror Master informed him.

"I assume your little friends told you about the deal we made?" Cold spoke up, eyeing the rat.

Piper scowled. "They did," he stroked the rat's fur gently. "I'm not happy about it but I'll do it if it means you guys won't have to steal anymore." He brightened as something occurred to him. "Can we go to the electronics store tomorrow? And the music store? They've got some awesome new operas out."

Cold cringed but nodded. "Batman's the one paying so you can buy whatever you want, kid. Just make sure you play those operas at top volume when you go stay with the junior brats, ok?"

Piper nodded, looking saddened.

"Get out," Cold said without preamble as he turned to look at the Justice League. "Flash can bring you back tomorrow, he knows where we live."

Ignoring the glares that he knew were coming this way Barry zoomed over to Piper, giving him a big hug before going to stand next to his fellow Justice League members. "Come on, guys, you really don't want to know what the Rogues do to unwanted guests, even if they are capes."

"All right," Batman sighed then turned to Cold once more. "What time are you leaving to go shopping tomorrow?"

Cold considered then said, "Eleven."

"See you at ten!" Barry waved as they left.

* * *

The next day Bruce Wayne watched from behind a potted plant and cringed as Piper picked up yet another shirt. "How many clothes does that boy need?" he wondered aloud.

"You've got to remember that the Rogues don't normally have this kind of money so they usually take him to a flea market. This is the first time in a very long time that he's been able to buy designer clothes, besides he probably wants to make a good impression on the team," Barry's voice was slightly muffled as he chomped down on another hamburger but Bruce had no trouble deciphering his words. "Besides, if even you are getting annoyed then how do you think the Rogues feel? They're a thousand time more uncomfortable than you ever will be."

Bruce considered then turned his attention back to the Rogues just as Piper held another shirt up for inspection. _I'm going to be bankrupt by the end of the day,_ he thought unhappily. _I just know I am._

* * *

"So what do you think of this one?" Piper asked.

Len looked at the shirt and did his best not to flinch. It was…garish, that was the only word that came to mind. I mean, who in their right mind would wear a blue and orange striped silk shirt? "It looks nice," he said finally.

"And it's super expensive," Mick's eyes went wide as he caught sight of the price tag.

"I know," Piper said excitedly as he threw it at Sam who staggered at the additional weight, nearly toppling him over seeing as how he was already loaded down with Piper's previous choices. "I'm doing my best to tick Batman off," he giggled.

"I think it's working," Mark observed as he caught sight of the two superheroes who had been tailing them since they left their hideout earlier that morning.

"At least we don't have to pay for this," Digger sounded slightly cheerful which could have been in part to the beer he had had before leaving.

"Tell me about it," Len groaned as Piper found three more pairs of jeans. "Are you through yet?"

Piper eyed the stack of clothes which was now taller than Sam. "I'm through with this store," he declared. "I want to visit the electronics store next."

Len heaved a sigh of relief then his shoulders slumped as Piper's words registered. "Well at least there's interesting stuff in that store."

"I'm not carrying anything heavy!" Sam's voice was just barely audible but they still managed to hear him.

"I'll help ya there, mate," Digger offered as he picked up a shirt and eyed it before tossing it onto their pile. "What?" he said defensively once he saw everyone glaring at him. "Batman's payin' for this, no tellin' when we'll get to do this again."

"I will not kill them," Len muttered under his breath. "I will not kill them."

* * *

If Bruce thought that the clothing store had been bad it was nothing when compared to the electronics store. This was probably the only store where the Rogues each found something that they wanted. Piper had already selected three new laptops, two desktops and a plethora of miscellaneous items while the other Rogues picked out a laptop apiece (so they could chat long distance without Mirror Master having to pop in and out of their sinks), radios, spot lights and even a few computer games.

"They're not getting any anti-virus software?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"With Piper around they don't need it," Barry stuffed some more cotton candy in his mouth. "That kid's a whiz with computers, might even be better than Robin."

"I'm sure Robin will want to test that theory," Bruce said drily. Something occurred to him and he turned to Barry. "Why did the Rogues take in Piper? They don't really seem the…paternal type at least not on paper that is."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Barry's voice was serious. "Piper was seven when they met him and…well let's just say that his home life wasn't the best and leave it at that. It won't end well for you if you poke around too much, Bruce. And no that's not a threat; it's a warning. The Rogues are very territorial when it comes to family and I pity the fool that messes with them. You know, I almost feel sorry for Waller and Luthor. Almost but not quite."

"I wonder where they're heading now," Bruce commented as he watched them leave the store.

"Probably the music store if I know Piper," Barry's voice was friendly again. "He's obsessed with it."

"Does Wally know them?"

"He's met them before," Barry said cautiously. "I mean, he doesn't know them that well but we used to go trick-or-treating with each other every Halloween. He and Piper used to get into fights about who had the most candy and then we'd have to settle it. Of course the Rogues just usually stole their candy and ate it but Len had to put a stop to it whenever Piper started crying."

Bruce's lips quirked in a smile before he caught himself and wiped it off of his face. "I wonder how I'm supposed to break the news to Robin that he's getting a new team member who also happens to be a Rogue."

"I wouldn't send Piper on any missions unless he wants to go," Barry said seriously. "If he gets hurt then the Rogues are going to descend on you and believe you me, they are pretty scary when Piper's in danger."

Bruce thought about it then nodded. "Very well. If Piper chooses to go on a mission then he can. Otherwise I suppose he can just stay at the cave." Mentally Bruce reminded himself to have Red Tornado keep a closer eye on Mount Justice than normal.

Barry looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it and returned to eating his cotton candy.

"You're going to get heartburn," Bruce couldn't help but remind his friend.

Barry shrugged. "I'm a speedster, remember? I need all this sugar to help keep my metabolism up."

* * *

A/N: Hey I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter and I'm glad that you liked it. Please read and review!

Next Up: Piper meets Young Justice!


	4. Meeting Teenagers

The Rogues

Chapter 4: Meeting Teenagers

* * *

Robin-Dick Grayson

Kid Flash-Wally West

Aqualad-Kaldur

Superboy-Conner Kent

Miss Martian-M'gann

Artemis-Artemis Crock

* * *

"So any idea what's so important that we had to come over in the middle of the week?" Artemis asked, her arms crossed and her habitual scowl firmly in place.

"Not a clue," Robin said cheerfully. "Batman wouldn't tell me but he did look kind of pained the other day when he came home after visiting Central City."

"And the Flash has been acting weird too," Wally chimed in as he sat down on the couch next to Artemis who immediately scooted over. "He was practically twitching when he came over last night and told me that I had to be on my best behavior."

"I am certain that they will inform us of what is going on when the time is right," Aqualad said stoically.

"I've got homework to do," Conner said impatiently "and my teacher's going to be mad if I don't finish it this time."

"I said I would help you with the math," M'gann frowned at her almost-but-not-quite-boyfriend.

"It's English," Conner scowled. "I don't see why I have to know how to diagram a sentence. How is that supposed to help me be more like Superman?"

Just then the zeta tubes announced the arrival of Flash, Batman and a guest.

"A guest?" Robin frowned. "We've never had a guest here before."

The two Justice League members walked in along with a teenaged boy. He looked to be their age, his red hair pulled back in a ponytail as his green eyes casually swept over them. He wasn't dressed like a superhero, wearing a green hoodie and blue jeans. In his hands was a mirror that he seemed to be whispering into. Definitely weird.

"Team," Batman said as the kids all stood. "This is your…"

"Roommate," the boy said. "I'm just crashing here until my family gets back." His glare could have melted steel but Batman didn't even flinch.

"His name is Piper…"

"Pied Piper," he corrected. "Like the fairy tale."

Wally blinked. "Dude, did he just correct Batman, _twice?"_

Robin nodded, his eyes equally wide.

"Can I get my luggage now?" Piper asked.

"Sure you can," Flash beamed at him.

Piper grinned and placed the mirror on the ground then stepped back. Almost immediately a man stepped out, wearing a green and orange suit and carrying two suitcases. He set them in front of Piper then leaned back into the mirror only to pull out more luggage. Soon Piper was surrounded by ten suitcases and three boxes while the Young Justice team just stared at him in shock.

"There you go, kid," the man said proudly then hugged Piper. "You take care of yourself and don't forget to call if you need us."

"You too, Sam."

Sam waved at Flash then dived into the mirror which Piper picked back up, looking slightly saddened.

"Dude, that was Mirror Master!" Kid Flash yelled.

"Why is your shirt moving?" M'gann asked, warily eyeing the article of clothing.

Piper looked down then reached into the pocket of his hoodie and withdrew a rat. "Finally wake up?" he asked the creature.

Artemis let out a shriek and retreated to the safety of the couch, causing Piper to glare at her.

"Don't worry, my lovely, she didn't mean to scare you," he handed the rat a piece of cheese then placed it back in his pocket.

Batman was glowering now as he turned to Piper. "You didn't say anything about bringing a rat with you."

"And you didn't tell me that I was going to be stuck in a cave," Piper shot back. "But at least there's a cute red-head here," he grinned.

At that Flash looked slightly uneasy and grabbed some of the suitcases. "Let's get you situated!" he said quickly then took off running through the base.

Piper scowled but placed the mirror on top of a box then picked it up. "I assume I have my own room?"

"Of course," Batman was still scowling. "Am I to assume that the Rogues will be dropping by every night?" his voice literally dripped with sarcasm.

Piper's grin was wide, having no doubt picked up on the fact that Batman didn't really want them there. "Well they weren't planning on it but I'm sure we can arrange something if you miss them that much. I know Len and the others would never miss out on an opportunity to drive you guys' nuts or corrupt some more kids."

"No," Batman said firmly. "They can check in with you but I would prefer it if they didn't come over without clearing it with me first."

Piper rolled his eyes. "They're villains, they don't usually check in unless they're trying to pick up girls and they want to use me to make them look better."

"Does it work?" Robin asked then flushed when Batman's gaze settled on him. "Just curious," he mumbled.

"No it most certainly does not," Piper said cheerfully. "Cuz then the women usually ask where my mother is and then things get really awkward."

Kid Flash suddenly brightened. "I remember you!" he shouted happily. "You stole my candy two Halloweens ago."

"Actually I believe that was Mark," Piper corrected. "I had no need to steal your candy as I was much cuter than you and therefore received more."

"Well he's got the cute part right," Artemis admitted, M'gann nodding in agreement.

"Was not that man Mirror Master a villain?" Aqualad asked hesitantly. When Piper nodded in confirmation he said, "Then why was he in our living room?"

"Because he was delivering my luggage," Piper stated matter of factly. "And because he's my dad. Well, one of them. Technically I have five and no mother. It's very weird."

"Sounds even weirder than me," Conner mumbled.

"I'll take that," Flash grabbed Piper's box and remaining suitcases before disappearing.

"I need to be going," Batman announced. "Piper will be joining you on missions if he chooses to do so. Otherwise he will remain here."

"Am I a prisoner?" Piper cocked his head to one side and looked challengingly at Batman.

Robin winced. "Dude, that is so not smart."

Batman gritted his teeth as he said, albeit reluctantly, "No you are not. However, we would prefer it if you stayed here when not attending school or on a mission."

"Okay," Piper shrugged then ignored Batman as he began looking around the room.

Seconds later Flash ran through then left with Batman, leaving the seven teens to stare at each other.

"So," Artemis broke the silence. "You two know each other?"

"We went trick-or-treating a couple of times," Piper said. "Flash thought it would help my dads' decide to reform if they could enjoy a single evening without stealing anything. It didn't really work out that well because Len usually wound up freezing someone, mostly because they were trying to spike candy."

"Would you like to see your room?" M'gann offered then frowned. "As soon as we figure out where it is."

"Sure, why not," Piper shrugged then followed the other teens as they led him through the base.

"The kitchen's right through there," Kid Flash pointed. "Help yourself but try not to burn anything."

Piper gave him a look. "Unlike Mick I can control myself when it comes to fire."

"That's my room," M'gann hovered outside of a door. "Conner and I both live here full-time so feel free to let us know if you need anything."

"Trust me if I need anything I won't be knocking on _your_ door," Piper said but winked to let her know he understood.

M'gann blinked but floated behind him as they continued walking.

"And I'm guessing that this one is yours," Robin concluded as they stopped outside of a slightly ajar door.

"Let's see what damage he did," Piper sighed as he pushed the door fully open and stepped inside. Seconds later he let out a loud shriek then came back out. "He ruined it," Piper sounded slightly dazed. "He destroyed it! It'll take days to make that look like my room."

Kid Flash and Robin exchanged puzzled glances then they went in. The full-size bed was covered with a dark green bed set, a Flash plushie leaning against the pillows. Rows and rows of CDs lined the bookshelves along with several different books with titles like, "Rats-The Encyclopedia" and "Human Anatomy". Both a desktop and a laptop computer had been set up on the desk along with a printer and fax machine. But the closet was what had probably summoned the pained cry seeing as how all the clothes were hanging completely out of order. At least that's what Robin hoped had upset Piper.

"Cool," Artemis said as she entered. "Is that a flute case?" she walked over to the seemingly innocent case lying in the middle of the bed.

But before she could touch it Piper ran over and held it to his chest possessively. "Don't touch my flute," he hissed then hid it underneath one of the pillows. "My CDs are completely out of order," he wailed. "He arranged according to _artist._ You're supposed to do it by _genre_ then artist. And my books! Flash better hope none of them got bent or else he owes me new ones! It took the guys forever to collect those."

"Anything else wrong?" Aqualad asked worriedly.

"My clothes are not in order," Piper stated. "They are supposed to be color-coded, that way I don't have to search for matching tops or bottoms."

Conner blinked. "I don't think even the girls are that crazy about their clothes," he said slowly.

"We're not," Artemis informed him.

"And I don't even want to know what he did with my mirrors or those projects I was working on," Piper moaned. "Where's a freeze gun when I need one? I knew I should have stolen Len's extra one."

The team exchanged uneasy glances then slowly began backing up. "Do you need anything else," M'gann offered.

Piper looked at her. "Do you have a freeze gun?" She shook her head. "Then no."

"Supper is at seven," Conner said then they quickly made their escape.

"Who is that kid?" Artemis demanded.

"I don't know," Wally defended himself. "We only hung out together a couple of times and it's been at least two years since then! All I know is that the Rogues haven't really been all that active for the past six years which is right about the time Flash made me go trick-or-treating with them."

"I wonder what his real name is," Robin mused, already making a mental note to research Piper.

"Dude, be careful," Kid Flash said. "The Rogues were pretty overprotective of him when we were little."

"I hope he keeps that rat in his room," M'gann worried out loud.

"I believe that it is time for me to return to Atlantis," Aqualad announced. "I will see you on Friday after classes have let out."

"Same here," Robin quickly made his excuses and all too soon it was just M'gann and Conner.

"So do you want some help with your homework?" M'gann asked.

"Sure," Conner shrugged. They had just gotten settled on the couch when music began blaring through the base. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Perhaps if we asked nicely he would turn it down," M'gann suggested hesitantly. Just then the music became even louder, causing the very walls to vibrate. "Or not," she said weakly.

"Can I kill Batman?" Conner asked plaintively.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter! Please read and review!


	5. School

The Rogues

Chapter 5: School

Thursday morning started out like every school morning; with Piper rolling over to continue sleeping while Conner and M'gann got dressed and began looking for their homework. Black Canary had decided to be nice and come over so that she could help Piper get accustomed to the new routine. Therefore, she was not pleased when she opened his door to find him sound asleep with what appeared to be at least twenty rats on top of him.

"Piper, get up!" she ordered. "You're going to be late for school. I don't know how they did things in the Rogue household but here you are supposed to get up in time if you want breakfast."

At that Piper slowly sat up and glared at her, albeit sleepily. "I don't go to school," he told her. "I never have and I have no intentions of starting now." And with that he retreated underneath the covers, the rats hissing at Black Canary as she debated whether or not to enter before finally deciding against it.

She re-entered the main room where Batman was waiting; Conner and M'gann having already left. "He says he's never gone to school," she reported.

Batman frowned. "Under normal circumstances I would say that he's lying to you but, unfortunately, I don't think he is. I'll bring over some tests this afternoon so we can get a feel for what grade he belongs in. Hopefully the Rogues at least taught him the basics and if not I'm really going to have to talk to Flash again."

"Should I even ask how or why that child was living with the Rogues?" Black Canary asked.

"I'm still not one hundred percent sure of that myself," Batman replied. "But Flash seems to think it's a good idea and it is his city but I would like you to keep an eye on him for me and see if there's any way we can convince him to leave the Rogues and join our team instead."

Black Canary nodded. "I'll do my best," she promised. "Now I really need to get going or else I'm going to be late for work."

"Same here," Batman said then the two left.

As soon as the zeta tubes had announced their departure a rat poked its head around the wall then hurried back to inform its master of the latest developments.

"So they want to convert me, huh?" Piper yawned sleepily as he pushed the covers off and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "Well they certainly got a surprise coming don't they, buddy?" he petted his various assortments of rats then passed out peanuts (because the cheese would have spoiled in his room) and finally got out of bed. "Now where did Flash put my stuff?" he wondered as he began digging through the closet. After several minutes of randomly throwing out clothes he finally found the box that he had been looking for and dumped the contents on the bed. He rubbed his hands together eagerly and smiled down at the equipment. "Time to have some fun, boys," he announced. "But only after I eat; Len will kill me if I skip breakfast."

* * *

Later that afternoon, after school had let out and Conner and M'gann had returned, Batman arrived, carrying a stack of papers which he sat down on Piper's desk with a flourish.

"What're those?" Piper asked, looking from the flute that he had been polishing.

"Tests," Batman replied. "You need to go to school and so you are going to take those tests so we can determine what grade you belong in."

Piper made a face. "I hate tests," he whined. "And I don't want to go to school."

"Take the tests," Batman said sternly.

Piper glared at him but sat down the flute, picked up a pen and began reading the papers over. Thirty minutes later he handed the papers back to Batman. "I'm done," he announced.

Batman raised an eyebrow. "It only took you thirty minutes to fill out the test for seventh grade?" he was impressed; it had taken him forty-five minutes when he did it at Piper's age.

Piper gave him a look. "I filled out all of the tests," he said calmly and picked the flute back up.

Batman stared at him then quickly read through the tests. Piper had correctly filled out all of the tests for seventh-twelfth grade and even the community college test.

"Don't you have anything more challenging than those?" the teenager asked.

Batman considered then reluctantly pulled out another piece of paper. "This test if for M.I.T.," he replied. "I only printed it out because Flash insisted."

Piper's eyes lit up and he eagerly began filling that paper out as well. Twenty minutes later it was returned to Batman who took several minutes before finally determining that it was correct as well. "According to this you should have a Masters from M.I.T.," he observed. "If you've never attended school then how exactly did you obtain this knowledge?"

Piper sighed and put his flute down again, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn't be rid of Batman until the superhero knew everything that he wanted. "After the Rogues took me in they discovered that I liked to read so they collected books for me. It didn't matter if it was a dictionary, college text book or a collection of fairy tales I would read it from front-to-back at least twice before moving on to the next one. I retained everything that I read and I knew how to use it."

"You have an identical memory," Batman surmised.

Piper shrugged. "You can call it that if you want; Mark says I'm a genius," he sounded proud of himself.

"You are, at least on paper. If you had to choose a field of study what would it be?" Batman was slightly curious; after all it wasn't every day that one got to meet a thirteen-year-old genius who had never even been to school.

"Engineering," Piper replied promptly. "More specifically, Sonics and sound manipulation and the effect it has on the brain."

"You want to be a hypnotist."

Piper flushed. "That term applies to second-rate magicians and street hustlers who use it to rob innocent people of their money! I am a scientist. Besides, my work is still in the theoretical stages. I haven't really gone beyond testing it on rats and the occasional Rogue."

"Is that why the rats are always following you?"

Piper shrugged. "Kind of I guess. They used to come to me long before I started experimenting. That's actually how I got the name Pied Piper; it was a nickname at first then it just stuck."

"What's your real name?" Batman asked quietly, hoping that Piper would respond to it without even thinking. No such luck.

Piper straightened and he glared at Batman so ferociously even the Dark Knight was slightly taken aback. "Get out," he hissed. "And stay out!"

Batman retreated, taking care to close the door behind him before rejoining Black Canary in the kitchen where she was cooking supper.

"So how'd it go?" she asked, stirring something in a big pot sitting on top of the stove.

"He's smarter than I am," Batman replied.

"Really?" that earned him a raised eyebrow. "I didn't think that was even possible."

Batman scowled. "He has an identical memory; he's just lucky."

"So no school?" Black Canary questioned as she added a couple of spices.

"No school," Batman confirmed. "I should make him go just so he can interact with children his own age but he would be bored to tears within a minute and the teacher would want to send him to a special class which would defeat the purpose."

"Did you find out anything about him?"

"I haven't had time to look yet," Batman told her. "I tried asking him but he got mad and kicked me out. On a side note he seems to be followed by rats wherever he goes so you should probably tell the others not to hurt them."

"What about you?"

"I have patrol in less than an hour," he said then made his exit as quietly as he had his entrance.

Black Canary sighed forlornly. "Why do I always get stuck with the fun jobs?" she asked no one in particular then turned the stove off. "Supper's ready!" she hollered. "Piper, I expect to see you here at the table with the other two!"

* * *

Ten minutes later the three teenagers were gathered at the table eagerly eating while some of Piper's rats drank from his bowl.

"No rats on the table," Black Canary scolded.

Piper stuck his tongue out at her but scooped the rats up and placed them on the floor where they seemed content to congregate around his feet.

"Is there anything that you need that I could bring you tomorrow?" Black Canary asked.

Both Conner and M'gann answered in the negative while Piper seemed to be thinking it over before saying, "Lime green nail polish; preferably the kind that sparkles and at least two bottles of it plus a rock."

Black Canary blinked. "Anything else?"

"A new dictionary, please. Flash bent the spine on my old one," Piper returned to eating while Black Canary did her best to process the request.

"Lime green nail polish, a rock and a dictionary," she repeated. "Sure thing, Piper."

"Thank you," Piper smiled at her.

It was then that Black Canary decided that it was time for a vacation away from Young Justice.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if it's a little shorter than the others. Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!


	6. Interactions

The Rogues

Chapter 6: Interactions

On Friday Piper locked himself in his room and refused to come out once he learned that the other teenage heroes would also be coming over. The kids didn't protest, even though they considered it when he started playing his music at top volume once more.

"What the hell is that kid's problem?" Artemis demanded as she covered her ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise.

"At least he's got good taste," Robin defended, having correctly identified the current singer as ABBA.

Both Conner and M'gann turned and glared at him. "You haven't had to listen to that non-stop for the past two days," the clone growled.

"He even plays it at night," M'gann sighed. "I have been considering asking him to turn it down but every time I try to go near his door the rats get in my way."

"Why don't you just use your telekinesis to pick them up?" Wally suggested.

"He claimed that I was hurting his 'lovelies' and threatened to have me trapped in a mirror for life!" she wailed.

"I do not believe that that is even possible," Aqualad said thoughtfully.

"Dude, he knows _Mirror Master._ That guy makes a living traveling through mirrors," Wally pointed out.

"Perhaps he feels left out," Aqualad suggested. "Or even uncomfortable. If he truly has never been to school then this is probably the first time he has ever interacted with people his own age and he is unsure of how to go about doing it."

"I could care less," Conner snarled. "I just want him to turn that junk off and get rid of those stupid rats!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to any of them Piper had been in the room the whole time. He had taken several miniature subsonic fields and attached the small discs to his rats and then ordered them to stand in a circle around him, thus rendering him invisible. As he listened to Superboy's words his eyes narrowed and his temper flared. After taking a deep breath he very slowly and deliberately picked up two tuning forks and stalked over to stand behind Superboy. He hit the tuning forks together, sending out a specialized tune that eerily resembled a Canary cry, sending all of the teens to their knees, save Aqualad who (since he had been standing apart from the others) was spared.

"Never insult my rats again," Piper said as the rats scurried off in different directions, leaving him visible once more. "Thank you for standing up for me," he told Aqualad.

"You are most welcome," the Atlantean eyed him warily then went to help M'gann to her feet.

"I'll be in my room," Piper announced then left.

"That was amazing," Robin's eyes were wide as he watched the Rogue leave the room.

"I didn't even hear him," Conner groaned. "Or see him for that matter."

"Well I for one am never going to be able to hear out of my left ear again," Artemis began massaging her temples in a desperate attempt to get rid of her headache.

"He's like a ninja," Wally decided as he zipped to the kitchen to fix himself a snack then came back with a crestfallen look on his face. "There's no more ice cream," he pouted.

"Oh I'm sorry, Wally," M'gann apologized. "I saw Piper's rats taking a carton of it to his bedroom but I didn't think anything of it."

* * *

"And then I used my tuning forks," Piper recounted happily as he ate Wally's ice cream with gusto.

"Good for you, kid," Len smiled proudly, his voice slightly scratchy due to the encryption software Piper was currently running on their computers.

"So how's it going?" Piper asked.

"It's very boring," Mick sighed. "They won't let me set anything on fire! That Poison Ivy lady threatened to feed me to her plants if I so much as lit a match near them again."

"Plenty of shiny stuff here though, that's good," Sam observed.

"And I got to electrocute Black Adam," Mark said happily.

"You did?" Piper leaned forward, curiosity shining in his green eyes.

"Yeah, but all he did was turn to a normal person," Mark sounded disappointed.

"So?" Digger shrugged. "Just means you get to zap him whenever you want without fear of killing him."

Mark considered this then brightened. "That's a very good point," he agreed.

"You're not supposed to encourage him," Len snapped then turned his attention back to Piper. "So anything else happen beside you disabling the entire Young Justice team?"

"Batman says I'm smart enough to have graduated from M.I.T. with honors," Piper reported.

"Well at least we did something right," Sam grinned.

Just then there was a knock on the Rogues' door. "We gotta go," Len said. "Take care of yourself, Piper." He leaned forward and the screen went dark.

"You too," Piper whispered then slowly finished his ice cream.

* * *

"So what happened to you guys?" Black Canary asked as she entered the main room, shopping bag in hand as she took in the sight of all the teenagers looking completely miserable as they curled up in various spots.

"I don't like that new kid," Artemis said with finality.

"What?" Conner sat up and looked around. "Did you say something?" he asked Robin.

"Dude are your ears _still_ ringing?" Wally asked in disbelief then shook his head.

"Piper did something to our ears," M'gann explained, "and I'm afraid Conner's still not feeling one hundred percent right now."

"He used some sort of device that resembled forks," Aqualad said. "But in his defense I believe it was due to the fact that the others were making fun of him and his rats. He is now in his room and has remained there since then."

"He was invisible," Robin's eyes were still wide with awe. "Not even Batman can turn himself invisible."

"Well he is a genius," Black Canary sighed. "I'll go talk to him." Upon reaching his room she paused then knocked. "Piper?" she called. "It's Black Canary, I have your stuff."

"Door's open," a voice replied after a minute pause.

Black Canary entered and any angry words she might have had regarding his little stunt with the other teens died on her lips when she caught sight of him. His entire posture screamed misery as he was curled up on his bed, looking at nothing in particular as several rats covered the majority of his body. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I want to go home," he said quietly. "I want to go back to my nice not-so-normal life where no one makes fun of me or my lovelies. Where I can play my music at top volume and Len or somebody'll come and ask what's wrong instead of complaining about it. I don't want people coming through at all hours of the day demanding that I take tests so they can force me to go somewhere that I don't want to go or thinking that there's something wrong with me. Because there's not; I'm fine!"

He looked so defeated that all Black Canary could see when she looked at him was a miserable teenage boy who had been ripped from his home and his family and forced to live with people that he had probably been taught to mistrust. She stepped forward and hesitantly rested a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing's wrong with you," she said. "They're just used to dealing with kids that are either normal or superheroes and you don't really fall into either category."

He smiled proudly. "Of course not; I'm a Rogue. We don't fit in anywhere except with each other."

The statement was so childishly simple that she simply had to smile. "And that's fine, the other kids will learn to accept you eventually but you have to be willing to work with them. Just try not to do whatever it was that you did and you should be fine."

"It was just a slightly altered version of your Canary cry," Piper muttered petulantly. "But whatever, just make them stop with the insults because I can and will give as good as I get."

"Deal," she promised then handed him the bag. "Your shopping list as requested."

His eyes lit up and he snatched the bag, eagerly inspecting the contents. "Awesome, thanks!"

"You're welcome," she smiled then left. After she had returned to the other group of teens she cleared her throat expectantly and waited until everyone had turned to look at her before beginning. "Piper promises not to deafen you again if you will agree not to insult him or the…rats," she shuddered ever so slightly on the last word.

"Do you think he would mind if I looked at his tech?" Robin asked hesitantly after nodding to show that he understood.

Black Canary opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Piper entering the room and saying, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

After receiving a raised eyebrow and pointed look Conner said, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"We all are," M'gann said sincerely, the others nodding in agreement.

"And I'm sorry about using my tuning forks on you," Piper sounded sincere but the look in his eyes didn't really seem to match his words.

"So what kind of tech do you use?" Robin asked, always eager to trade secrets with a fellow techie. Batman just wasn't fun when it kind to those kinds of things.

Before Piper could reply the zeta tube announced Batman's arrival as he walked in. "Get your gear ready," he ordered. "You guys have a mission."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: After this some of the chapters will be corresponding with Young Justice episodes (with considerable liberties taken of course) and other episodes will be completely ignored. It's nothing personal but I was never overly fond of Young Justice (Captain Marvel being the sole reason why I originally watched it) but I just figured that this would the best place for Pied Piper to go.

A/N/N/N: Oh and some of you have asked where Trickster is. So far he is…in my head. I do intend to introduce him at some point in this story but not for awhile.


	7. Bereft Part 1

The Rogues

Chapter 7: Bereft Part 1

When the Pied Piper came to it was to find himself in a desert. "Huh?" he groaned as he pushed himself up on his elbows. "What in the-where am I? Where are the others?" he then looked down at himself and his eyes widened. "And why am I wearing my costume? Len said he'd kill me if I ever wore this!" hesitantly he reached inside his clothes and sighed in relief when his fingers closed around a familiar object. "My flute," he whispered jubilantly and began to play.

Slowly but steadily rats began to trickle towards him. They came from behind rocks, from in caves; they came from everywhere in silent obedience to their master's call.

Piper smiled widely for as the rats trickled towards him so did his memories. "Go my lovelies," he ordered. "Find the others and bring them to me. So commands the Pied Piper!"

* * *

Miss Martian was more than a little confused when she woke up. The last thing she remembered was having another fight with her parents and going to bed but she wasn't in her bed. In fact she was pretty sure that she wasn't even on Mars anymore. Her memories of TV shows and Uncle J'onn's stories all seemed to indicate one thing; she was on Earth.

"Yes!" she cheered. "But how did I get here?"

It was then that she spotted several small animals walking past her in a straight line. Curious by nature M'gann decided to follow them. After all, what could it hurt?

* * *

_Her head hurt,_ was Artemis's first thought, the second was, _where the heck am I?_ But the third and by far most pressing thought of all was, _Why is there a boy lying next to me?!_

"My head is killing me," the boy groaned as he sat up. He was wearing a black version of the Kid Flash costume.

"Where are we?" Artemis asked, hoping against all hope that the other kid knew.

But, before he could answer her, a rat ran across the floor in front of them. Seconds later a couple dozen more followed and that was when Artemis decided that they should probably go to. One thing she had learned from living in crappy apartments was that when the rodents left you should too. She grabbed the other kid by the arm and yanked him out the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked in protest.

"We need to leave," she hissed as they hid behind a rock outcropping.

"Why?" he asked then the shed where they had been hiding blew up. He blinked. "Good idea."

"What are they doing?" Artemis looked down at the rats which had formed the shape of an arrow.

"Maybe we should go that way. I'm Kid Flash by the way." He offered his hand and after some hesitation Artemis took it.

"Artemis."

* * *

As partner to Batman (he refused to say sidekick) Robin had gotten used to some pretty weird things. He no longer thought it strange to see grown men and women wearing little more than swimsuits going around and fighting crime but he did find it pretty unusual to wake up in the middle of the desert. Last time he checked Gotham didn't have deserts and he was pretty sure that he would have remembered Batman taking him to the desert. Unless…this was another one of Batman's stupid training missions but that thought was quickly dismissed by the realization that Alfred wouldn't have allowed it.

But even the fact that he was used to weird things still didn't prepare him for the rats that walked past him, carrying an unconscious Aqualad. Robin blinked then blinked again and rubbed his eyes for good measure. Once he was certain of what he was seeing he decided to follow the rats and make sure that his friend was okay. He also thought it would be better to wait and call Batman until _after_ all of this had been settled.

* * *

Anger. That was the first thing he felt when he opened his eyes. He was angry at someone, wasn't he? He couldn't think, couldn't feel anything except for angry. He wanted to hurt someone, he really did but the music was so relaxing…it washed over him in waves, telling him to go to sleep. Was sleep good? It was, wasn't it? Yes, sleep would be so very nice. He could be angry later. Much, much later.

* * *

Piper mentally sighed in relief when Superboy finally fell to the ground. That had been slightly more difficult than anticipated but he had always liked a good challenge. Some of his rats were beginning to return and they quickly relayed their news, sensing that their master would reward them. And he did, feeding them peanuts from somewhere hidden deep within his clothes and petting them on their little heads. "So the others are coming? That's good; I believe I shall play them a song."

* * *

The first thing that Miss Martian was aware of was the music. It was so beautiful and unlike anything the Earth transmissions that her uncle had sent that she simply _had_ to follow it no matter where it led her.

Artemis and Kid Flash had been making pretty good time despite the fact that she was making him walk so they could keep up with the rats when the first strands caught their ears. They stood still for a moment then Kid Flash picked her up and ran as fast as he could, if only to reach that glorious sound as fast as possible.

When he heard the sounds Robin immediately knew that he was probably being placed in a hypnotic trance but he didn't really care. The rats that carried Aqualad seemed to want to go there too so that was fine by him. He did force himself to hold onto a birdarang but highly doubted he would be able to use it once they reached their destination.

They all reached the area at the same time, easily finding it because of the rats that were pouring in from all sides as they flocked to the center of the distraction. It was a peculiar figure, wearing a green cloak and playing a flute. A green glow could be seen beneath the hood and, even though he was seated, he didn't appear to be very tall. He glanced up at them, allowing them to see that the glow was merely a pair of green sunglasses then continued playing. The rats that carried Aqualad moved towards the small body of water behind the figure and didn't stop, plunging into it before swimming to the edge where they were carefully plucked out by the figure who petted their fur before giving them pieces of food.

"Glad you guys could make it," the figure stood up and pushed back his hood, revealing himself to be a red-headed boy about their age. He wore black pants and shirt with green boots and matching utility belt. "I was actually getting worried about you," he scowled. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"Who are you?" Artemis asked.

The boy's shoulders slumped. "I am…the Pied Piper! And everyone has to pay the Piper," he smirked.

"Like the fairy tale?" Kid Flash asked then scratched his head in confusion. "Well I guess that would explain the rats."

"I hate you all," the Pied Piper declared as he sat back down, crossing his arms and letting out an annoyed "humph".

"I'm terribly sorry," Miss Martian said apologetically as she flew closer to him.

"Its fine, I guess," he grumbled.

"_So where are we going?" Piper asked._

"_I beg your pardon," Batman frowned at him._

"_Where. Are. We. Going?" Piper repeated slowly. "You said I could go along if I wanted to and I do. So, where are we going?"_

"_Bialya."_

"We're in Bialya," Robin said suddenly, clutching his head as the memory fled. "Batman sent us here."

"Finally!" Piper threw up his arms. "Someone else is remembering."

"Well what do you remember?" Kid Flash challenged.

Piper glared at him, causing the other red head to back up uneasily. "My memory isn't the best either," he admitted. "I remember pretty much everything from before this mission."

"Who is that?" Artemis had caught sight of the unconscious, half-naked Superboy lying nearby and her already paranoid mind was now in overdrive.

"His name is Superboy," Piper told her. "But I'm getting really tired of all this. Why don't you go away and come back when you remember?" he suggested.

"Or," Miss Martian said hesitantly. "I could use my telepathy to link our minds and try to piece things together that way."

"No way," Piper said immediately. "The last time someone tried to go in my head I almost had a nervous breakdown, I'm not that eager to do it again."

A groan interrupted them and they turned to watch as Aqualad slowly climbed out of the small body of water. "Where am I?" he asked weakly. "And why is it so hot?"

"We're in the Bialyian desert," Robin told him. "And from what I've been able to piece together we're missing six months of our memories."

Aqualad blinked. "That sounds rather alarming. What can we do to rectify the situation?"

"We were discussing the merits of having gorgeous over there," Kid Flash jerked his thumb toward Miss Martian, "read our minds and help us get our memories back. But the rat guy says no."

"It's Piper," the teen hissed. "And in case you've all forgotten, I'm the one who brought you all here, including Aqualad who, without me, would no doubt be dead so the least you can do is get my name right."

"And we really do appreciate you helping us like that but we would like to get our memories back and since you seem to be the only one of us that remembers anything recent I believe that only you can help us. Please, I promise not to dig anywhere that you don't want me to go," Miss Martian's voice was sincere and her eyes wide as she pleaded.

Piper sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I reserve the right to kill you if you find something I don't want you to."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter. Please read and review!


	8. Bereft Part 2

The Rogues

Chapter 8: Bereft Part 2

"What about him?" Robin indicated Superboy who was just starting to come around.

"Oh don't worry about him," Piper said then played a tune on his flute. Superboy stood up and walked over to them then sat down, a blank look in his eyes. "After his memories have been restored he'll be back to his normal grouchy self."

"Do we need to hold hands or anything?" Artemis asked uncertainly as she sat next to Superboy, Kid Flash plopping down rather unceremoniously.

Miss Martian thought about it then nodded. "It would probably make it easier if you don't mind."

"Of course," Aqualad said, holding both Wally's and Robin's hands.

"Thrilling," Piper sighed heavily but he too grasped their hands.

Miss Martian's eyes glowed and then the desert disappeared.

* * *

_Suddenly they were back at Mount Justice; Batman was standing in front of the big screen monitor, his usual grim look in place. "The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyian desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements that are non-terrestrial in origin."_

"_So we're going after aliens?" Piper's eyes were wide and he looked slightly excited by the prospect._

"_I want you to find out what happened at that site," Batman continued._

"_You mean, you want us to find out what landed there," Piper corrected._

"_Does he have a death wish or something?" Wally asked Robin quietly._

_The Boy Wonder shrugged. "I have no idea."_

"_The main problem with Bialya will be getting in," Batman ignored the arguing, although he did glare at Robin._

"_Why is that?" Aqualad asked._

"_Bialya is a Rogue state," Piper answered. "This lady named Queen Bee rules it; she's a little bit like Poison Ivy in the fact that she can control men but they have to be attracted to her which is the ladies' main weakness."_

_Everyone in the room turned to stare at him. "How could you possibly know that?" Superboy demanded._

_Piper rolled his eyes. "Hello? Rogue here? Len and the others made sure I knew everything there was to know about the other villains on the off chance that I ran into one of them. They wanted to be sure that I was 'prepared' to deal with them."_

"_Does he have to go with us?" Artemis complained._

"_Unfortunately that is his decision," Batman sighed. "I can neither force him to go or stay."_

"_It might be nice to have another member with us," M'gann said hesitantly._

"_All right!" Piper cheered. "Just give me five minutes to change." With that he took off, disappearing in the direction of his room._

"_Can he even fight?" Superboy asked._

"_He can sneak up on you, can't he?" Robin replied sarcastically._

_Five minutes later the teens re-assembled, wearing their costumes including…well they assumed that it was Piper standing there, wearing a green cloak with his eyes glowing unnaturally._

"_Dude, what are you wearing?" Wally broke the silence._

"_It's no more ridiculous than your outfit," Piper retorted which, they reluctantly had to admit, was a good point. Several of the rats were attempting to climb up Piper's legs but he carefully removed them and placed them on the couch. "Stay here, my lovelies, and keep an eye on things." The rats squeaked in protest but they remained on the couch even when Piper followed the other teens to the Bio-Ship._

_As they took off in the air Miss Martian spent the first few minutes of the flight checking that all of her systems were good then turned her attention to other things. Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad were sitting in a corner animatedly discussing something funny that had apparently happened while Robin and Batman were on patrol the other night while both Superboy and Artemis were scowling and Piper…Piper was staring out one of the windows, a curious expression that seemed to be part fear, part excitement on his face._

"_We'll be there in five minutes," Miss Martian finally announced. Almost immediately the mood inside the Bio-Ship changed. The three side…partners stopped talking while the two lone wolves straightened and finally began to smile and Piper turned to look at her, pulling the hood of his cloak back up._

_After the landing and subsequent un-boarding of the passengers Miss Martian instructed the Bio-Ship to cloak itself then they turned to Aqualad for further instructions._

"_Miss Martian, scout ahead; take Piper with you and be sure to stay in telepathic contact at all times. Artemis, Kid Flash, keep an eye on this immediate area while Robin and Superboy set up the data recorder," Aqualad ordered._

_Miss Martian nodded, not overly thrilled about having to take Piper with her but not willing to press the point. The two set off, Miss Martian in camouflage mode while Piper fiddled with something under his cloak before turning invisible as well. To her surprise he was actually quiet, she had been expecting snarky comments or more complaints about the team but he didn't say a word. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that she was in telepathic contact with him she wouldn't have even known that he was there. He might actually prove to be useful she decided._

"_We're here," she announced._

_Piper peered over the cliff and down at the tent below them. "I see at least ten armed guards," he reported. "No sign of anything alien yet."_

"_I'm picking up on…something inside the tent," Miss Martian relayed. "Someone's in great pain! I need to go and find them."_

"_Wait!" Aqualad ordered but it was no use, Miss Martian was already heading towards the tent. "Piper, follow her."_

"_How?" Piper asked. "I can't fly and I can't get anyone to help me unless I want to give away my position!"_

_Silence then, "Remain at your current location until Miss Martian returns."_

"_Fine," Piper sighed heavily and glared at the retreating female's back._

_Miss Martian ignored Aqualad's orders and instead focused on the pain coming from the tent. Its thought pattern was very erratic and unlike nothing she had ever felt before but it was alive. After entering the tent unobserved she made her way to the giant metal sphere and cautiously placed her hand on it. "Are you…okay?" she asked._

"_I see you," an amused voice cut her thoughts._

_Startled, Miss Martian turned to see a man emerging from the crowd. He wore a brown cloak and stared her in the eyes. He pushed back the hood, revealing that his brain was enclosed in glass._

"_Psimon sees everything and you are not welcome here. Now, forget!"_

_Pain engulfed her mind and Miss Martian screamed as the psychic feedback in her mind exploded. But just before everything went dark she saw Piper playing on his flute and then she knew no more._

* * *

The teens all broke apart, clutching their heads in agony.

"That was not a very pleasant experience," Aqualad finally said.

"Definitely whelming," Robin agreed.

"And you people wondered why I didn't want to do this?" Piper sighed as he picked up one of the rats and held it next to his heart.

"Dude that was so weird," Kid Flash groaned. "And not in a good way."

"Psimon's here? That's not good," Artemis looked slightly worried as she began polishing her box.

"What happened?" Superboy groaned. "It feels like somebody stirred my brains or something."

"Well technically that did happen," Miss Martian said reluctantly.

"Mostly because someone ignored Aqualad's orders," Piper glared at her.

"But it was in so much pain!" Miss Martian protested. "What was I supposed to do, leave it?"

"Yes," Aqualad broke in. "At the very least you should taken Piper with you or waited for back-up. Had you done so then we might have already been done with this mission and their prisoner would be free. Instead you rushed in blindly, therefore placing the entire team in jeopardy. But this is a conversation best left for the mission is completed. Until then we should come up with a plan of attack as our stealth portion of this mission is definitely over."

Miss Martian nodded, showing that she understand while simultaneously blinking back tears. Piper saw her distress and offered her a green handkerchief from one of the pouches on his utility belt. She smiled at him in gratitude then promptly blew her nose before dabbing at her eyes.

"The data that we've gathered so far is similar to the particles emitted by our zeta tubes," Robin explained as he began punching buttons on his custom looking watch, bringing up a small holographic display.

"It does make sense," Kid Flash said thoughtfully. "After all, Batman did say that something had caused a massive energy surge so it's entirely possible that the aliens have similar technology."

Aqualad nodded slowly then turned to Piper. "So what exactly can you do with that flute of yours? I did not ask earlier because I thought you were only capable of turning yourself invisible but it is now painfully obvious that you can do much more."

Piper beamed, obviously thrilled to be discussing a subject that he so dearly loved. "I can hypnotize people, make them do things then forget that they did. I can also shatter things with it and control animals."

"Cool," Robin breathed. "You have so got to show me how to do that."

"Sure," Piper shrugged. "But you can't use it; I've got a patent on this thing."

"You took out a patent on a flute?" Artemis stared at him incredulously.

"Not necessarily on the flute itself but on the technology I use," Piper said defensively. "If anyone else ever tries to use it then they go to jail and I get a lot of money," he sounded happy. "Especially since I got to sue Wayne Enterprises last year when one of their employees tried to use a modified version of it to brainwash people." He rolled his eyes. "And then Bruce Wayne tried to get out of paying me but the courts made him."

Both Robin and Kid Flash stared at him in shock. They vividly remembered when Jervis Tetch aka The Mad Hatter had been arrested and the ensuing lawsuit had been pressed against Wayne Enterprises for attempting to reverse engineer a sonic gun and hypnosis apparatus. Bruce Wayne had lost and had been forced to pay over one million dollars to the patent holder but, since he had been unwilling to reveal his true identity, the money had instead gone to a variety of charities for abused women and children and support victims of AIDS and their families. Batman had not been happy.

"Okay," Superboy said slowly. "But how is that going to help us take down those goons?"

Aqualad stared at Piper for a long moment. "I believe that I have an idea."

* * *

A/N: Okay so this is going to be a three part after all. I was thinking only two but then this chapter happened so yeah three. Next part should be the last though. Hope you guys liked it! Please read and review!


	9. Bereft Part 3

The Rogues

Chapter 9: Bereft Part 3

Stealth had been no good; the Bialyians had a telepath on their side so that meant the element of surprise was no longer on the teens' side. The guards were bound to be ready for them no matter what so, Aqualad decided, they were going to storm the place. Piper went in first, a lone figure in the distance shrouded in green playing a lively tune that had all the guards turning to look at him. Even when they started aiming their guns Piper didn't stop playing, instead he smiled, a grin that was eerily reminiscent of Leonard Snart and blew one final note. Rats, thousands upon thousands of them, swarmed towards the camp, biting the guards anywhere they could sink their little teeth into. While the guards were distracted the others moved in. Aqualad used his water whips to remove the guns from a few of the sturdier soldiers who weren't so easily horrified while Robin threw down smoke bombs and Kid Flash created some whirlwinds to further disorient the Bialyians.

Artemis used her arrows to provide Miss Martian and Superboy cover as they headed towards the tent. Once inside Miss Martian immediately went on the offensive, making sure to keep an eye out for Psimon as she approached the sphere.

_It's okay,_ she said telepathically. _We're here to help._

The sphere made a peculiar whining sound but seemed to realize that she meant it no harm.

"Look out!" Superboy shouted and pushed Miss Martian out of the way just in time to avoid one of Psimon's psi-blasts.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly as she got back up and glared daggers at Psimon. "I have a bone to pick with you," she hissed.

"Go ahead and try, little girl," Psimon laughed. "You are nowhere near my league and you never will be."

"I might not be as powerful as you but I have one thing that you never will."

"Oh really?" Psimon raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"Friends," she smiled.

Psimon opened his mouth as if to laugh but froze when the sound of music hit his ears. Piper walked in, rats scampering around his feet as he continued to play. He stopped directly in front of Psimon and lowered his flute. "Your head is very interesting," Piper said conversationally. "It's really not a good idea to have such an important part of you enclosed in something so…breakable." He pulled a weird looking gun from his utility belt causing Miss Martian to idly wonder where he had hidden it then fired. The glass on Psimon's head shattered and the telepath fell to the floor, shrieking in agony. "That was for me having to get my mind read," Piper sniffed indignantly then turned and walked out.

"I really need to learn not to antagonize him," Superboy broke the silence.

Miss Martian nodded in agreement.

Since they were, technically, trespassing they were forced to leave Psimon behind much to Piper's disappointment who had been looking forward to practicing some of his songs on the telepath. They did, however, keep the sphere that had attached itself to Superboy and refused to stray more than a few feet from him but wouldn't go near Piper for some strange reason.

It was with no small amount of relief that they finally boarded the Bio-Ship and took off for Mount Justice. The trip back was much quieter than the earlier trip, due in no small part to everyone's exhaustion. The mind wipe, mind-reading and following battle had obviously taken a lot out of all of them. Artemis was sound asleep, her head on Kid Flash's shoulder while Aqualad and Robin attempted to stay awake by conversing in low, quiet tones. Piper was so quiet and still that one might have thought him sleeping were it not for the fact that he was the only one who didn't jump in surprise when she informed them that they had arrived.

Superboy and Sphere were the first ones off, followed by Robin, Aqualad, Artemis and Kid Flash. Piper and M'gann were the last ones to disembark and she wasted no time in running to her uncle who was waiting for her.

"Are you all right?" Uncle J'onn inquired, already scanning her mind lightly.

"A little tired but I should be fine," she said, returning the favor.

Robin and Batman were comparing notes while Kid Flash excitedly regaled his uncle with tales of how he had saved the day. Aquaman rested a hand on Kaldur's shoulder but didn't say anything, there was no need to. Even Black Canary and Green Arrow had come to say hi to Conner and Artemis. Only Piper was left standing by himself, looking rather sad and lonely. He sighed then slipped out of the room, the rats already milling towards him as they had sensed his return.

"Hi, guys," he picked one of them up. "Miss me? I'm glad someone did." He reached his room and went in where he took the cloak off and carefully hung it in the closet. "Remind me to refrigerate it later," he told one of the animals then grabbed a clean change of clothes and went to claim the shower before anyone else did.

Black Canary was the first one to notice Piper's absence after making sure that Conner was all right. "Where's Piper?" she demanded.

"I don't know," M'gann said. "He was just right here."

"Well someone's in the shower," Conner said, cocking his head to the side.

"He probably just wanted to get cleaned off," Robin laughed. "We were in the desert for quite a while. Probably would've been there longer if it hadn't been for him. Did you know he's the guy that sued Bruce Wayne last year over that hypnosis tech?"

"Really?" even though it was a question it sounded more like a growl when coming from Batman.

"I didn't know that," Flash frowned.

"And he hypnotized Superboy," Kid Flash jumped in.

"His skills with his flute are unprecedented," Aqualad admitted. "How exactly did he get me to the water though? That part of my memory is still a blank."

"He had his rats carry you," Robin grinned. "I thought I was hallucinating at first."

"The rats found all of us," Artemis said. "If I hadn't seen them then Wally and I probably would have been blown up."

"Well in that case why don't we take you guys out to celebrate you not being dead?" Green Arrow suggested. "Batman and I'll pay."

"Shower first," Artemis said. "Then food."

"Food first," Wally corrected.

"Uh, Wally," Flash whispered in his nephew's ear. "It's really not a good idea to get in the way of a woman and her shower. Besides, you do smell kind of ripe."

Wally sniffed himself then his eyes widened. "You're right," he whispered.

"So it's agreed?" Black Canary smiled down at them. "Shower then dinner?"

"Sounds great," Robin said enthusiastically after a quick look at Batman who nodded.

"My liege?" Kaldur questioned.

"Go have some fun with your friends," Aquaman said.

"Uh I don't have any other clothes," Conner said, glancing down at his Superman t-shirt. "All I have are other shirts just like this."

"Why don't you ask Piper?" Black Canary suggested. "I know he's not your size but he might be able to come up with something."

"Yeah," M'gann said.

Conner glowered angrily at them but reluctantly nodded. Twenty minutes later he found himself waiting outside of the bathroom when Piper finally emerged, wearing his usual jeans and hoodie, his red hair perfectly brushed and held back in a ponytail.

"Are you stalking me?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow as he began to walk towards his room.

"I need your help," Conner said bluntly as he followed.

"With what?" Piper was back to being his usual snarky self.

"Green Arrow and Batman are taking all of us out to dinner tonight and I don't really have any other clothes than these," Conner explained, refusing to feel embarrassed.

Piper stopped, turned around and appraised Conner with a critical eye. "I might be able to help you," he said finally.

"Really?"

"Why must you act so surprised?" Piper sighed as he opened his door. He went to the closet where he rummaged around for a few minutes before digging out a suitcase. He laid it down on the bed and opened it. He pulled out a blue silk shirt and held it up to Conner. "This should do," he said. "It's Boomer's but I don't think he'll mind if you borrow it as long as you don't tear it."

"Thanks," Conner said then hastily beat a retreat.

* * *

Two hours later Conner didn't feel as overdressed as he thought he would as they sat around a huge table in the restaurant. Artemis wore a green dress and M'gann had put on a stunning blue one that looked very nice with her red hair. Robin, Wally and Piper were all wearing dress slacks and shirts in red, yellow and green respectively. Even Batman and Green Arrow wore dress clothes although Green Arrow had already ditched the tie much to Black Canary's displeasure as she maintained that if she had to wear a black evening dress then he should have to be uncomfortable as well.

Dinner was…surprisingly nice. They laughed and told jokes, trading stories about things that happened in school or while on patrol. Piper was nice enough to regale them with a few stories about the Rogues, mostly some of their more hilarious schemes.

"Captain Cold really threatened to freeze all of the money in the bank?" Black Canary raised an eyebrow.

"Yep," Piper said cheerfully as he cut his steak. "Heatwave got so mad that he decided to burn it all. That's when Weather Wizard threatened to electrocute them both if they didn't stop arguing about it while Captain Boomerang just stole the night watchman's beer and drank it while he was watching and Mirror Master stole the money right out from underneath them! That was when Flash came and arrested them. He thought it was hilarious and so did I. But that was before my time," he added. "After I came along they didn't steal as much. Apparently Aunt Lisa threatened to kill them if she had to raise me and my lovelies."

"Aunt Lisa?" Green Arrow questioned. "Is she pretty? Ow!" he glared at Black Canary.

"She is but she's Len's sister plus she's involved with someone right now," Piper informed him. "As you are, I believe."

"He most certainly is," Black Canary glared.

Batman's lips twitched and he re-adjusted his sunglasses. Apparently when you paid an exuberant amount of money to eat at a restaurant they didn't ask you to take off your sunglasses or complain about the fact that some of the teenagers you were eating with were kicking each other under the table. However, he did glare at the culprits, Wally and Artemis, and focused his attention back on Piper. He had met the boy before, he was sure of it. He watched as Piper continued talking then narrowed his eyes when he noticed something: Piper wasn't looking at people's faces or eyes when talking, but their _mouths._ And that was when Bruce Wayne realized that he was eating dinner with Hartley Rathaway, the deaf child of Osgood and Rachel Rathaway who had been murdered six years earlier by his own father.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked. Please read and review!  
A/N/N: After this chapter the postings won't be as regular since I go back to work on Tuesday and plan to spend Monday catching up on some Young Justice episodes that I plan to work into this story. Let me know what you guys think!


	10. Hartley

The Rogues

Chapter 10: Hartley

After dinner was over and the young heroes had all been returned to their respective cities Batman and Robin arrived back at Wayne Manor. Alfred stood in the Bat Cave, his arms crossed disapprovingly as he glowered at them.

"There you are," he said in his 'you are in big trouble' voice. "I was beginning to think that something had happened. I trust you are hungry?"

Bruce winced. He had completely forgotten to call Alfred and tell him that they weren't coming home for dinner. Robin had already retreated, hollering something about needing to check in with Roy leaving Bruce to face the elderly butler on his own. "I'm sorry, Alfred," he decided to go with the truth. "But Ollie suggested that we take the team out for dinner and…"

Alfred just looked at him then shook his head. "And you didn't think to call? You should consider yourself lucky that Ms. Dinah did otherwise we would have had charred roast."

_Thank you, Dinah,_ Bruce thought fervently. "I promise to call you the next time, Alfred, all right?"

"Very well, sir, will you be coming up tonight?" Alfred inquired.

Bruce considered. "Later," he compromised. "I need to check on some things."

"Very well," Alfred nodded then went upstairs.

Once he was gone Bruce sat down at his computer and began searching for any and all information on Hartley Rathaway. A few minutes later he pulled up the death certificate and frowned at it. According to this there was no way young Rathaway was still alive but he was.

"Sir, I brought you some coffee," Alfred said as he sat down the silver platter. He raised an eyebrow when he saw what Bruce was looking at. "Is that the Rathaway case? But I thought that matter closed some time ago, sir."

"So did I," Bruce pulled up a picture of seven-year-old Hartley and placed next to one of thirteen-year-old Piper. "Until I went to dinner tonight with Piper and realized he was reading everyone's lips."

"He's still alive?" Alfred was shocked. "But isn't he dead? I thought his father murdered him."

"His body was never found," Bruce said, already searching for the police report. "But they found so much blood at the scene of the crime that there was no way he could have survived that much blood loss. Plus his father admitted to beating the child on a regular basis so everyone just assumed that he went too far one night and dumped the body. But the interesting thing is that his father was found frozen in a block of ice on Hartley's bed completely naked."

"Naked? He was…sexually abusing his son?" Alfred looked ill at the mere thought as he glanced at the ceiling as if thankful that Dick was safely in his bedroom.

"There was evidence to support that claim," Bruce said reluctantly. "The crime scene technician was Barry Allen so I never questioned any of his findings. But the block of ice does make sense now that I think about it in conjecture with the Rogues. It's entirely possible that they discovered what was going on and reacted accordingly. But Piper certainly isn't dead and no matter what his father has done he shouldn't be punished for something that he didn't do."

"Just out of curiosity, sir, what was his punishment?" Alfred asked as he poured the coffee into a cup before offering it to Bruce.

Bruce scowled as he accepted the cup. "Six months in a private sanitarium, he pleaded insanity and the judge sent him there."

"I don't think his punishment was harsh enough," Alfred declared. "But what are you going to do about it?"

"The first thing that I'm going to do is talk to Barry," Bruce was already taking off his utility belt and boots.

"And then?" Alfred prompted.

"Then I'll probably have to talk to Piper," Bruce really wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"Good luck, sir," Alfred told him. "Now if you'll excuse me I believe that I am going to go and check on young Master Richard."

* * *

Bruce arrived in Central City three hours later, parking his flashy sports car in the Allen's driveway. The door was open before he even knocked and Barry looked at him in surprise.

"What's up, Bruce?" he asked, stepping aside to let his friend in.

"We need to talk about Hartley Rathaway," Bruce didn't bother beating around the bush; he simply jumped right in, guns blazing.

"Oh no," Barry groaned as he closed the door behind them. "Why, Bruce? Why did you have to do this? I warned you not to get involved."

"You falsified evidence," Bruce stated. "You convicted a man for a crime he didn't commit."

"I didn't falsify anything," Barry hissed. "The evidence was already there when I arrived. I simply gave them my expert opinion as did several other technicians. We're talking about the richest family in Central City and Keystone, Bruce. They had everybody testifying, not just me."

"He's not dead," Bruce stated.

"Yes he is," Barry sat down on the couch, head in his hands. "I caught Mirror Master stealing a rape kit from the hospital that night. I convinced him to take me with him…" his voice trailed off and he shuddered. "God, Bruce, I've never seen anything that awful in my entire life. If you could've seen what his father had done to him…that man deserved to die. Besides, we all knew that he would just buy himself off anyways. At least this way Piper got to be free of his family once and for all."

"What about his mother?" Bruce asked.

Barry snorted. "What about her? She knew what was going on and she chose to do nothing about it. Cold offered to let Piper go stay with her if he wanted but he said no. His parents didn't love him; you didn't have to be a genius to see that but the Rogues did."

"I really should report this," Bruce's voice was serious.

"Please, I'm begging you, Bruce. Don't do this to him, to any of them. The Rogues have taken far better care of him than anyone else ever could. They learned sign language even though he could hear by then, they did everything that they could for that child and he turned out all right. What if it had been Dick in that situation? Or Wally?"

Bruce hesitated. He mentally compared the pictures of Hartley and Piper in his mind then heaved a heavy sigh. "In another four months it will be approximately seven years since Hartley's disappearance. I suppose I could keep quiet about it but I do plan on talking to Hartley about it," he warned.

Barry heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Bruce just shot him a look then left.

* * *

Piper was cuddling his favorite rat, one that he'd named Jerrie, when suddenly his computer pinged. Startled, he turned and looked at it, his green eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the flashing message on his computer. "So, Bruce, you've finally decided to check. Not a good idea," he began entering random sequences of letters then smirked. "Goodbye, Bat Cave computer."

* * *

"Sir?" Alfred sounded hesitant.

"What is it, Alfred?" Bruce asked as he pressed down on the gas.

"I'm afraid that your computer has crashed. As in, it completely died. It came back on but all of the information on young Mr. Rathaway was gone."

Bruce cursed under his breath. In retrospect he really shouldn't have been surprised, Piper was a genius after all and it was never a good idea to cross one. "I'll be home in a few hours," he said then hung up the phone.

* * *

Once he was certain that Bruce was gone and very much out of hearing distance Barry grabbed his cell phone and dialed. He paced up and down impatiently for all of thirty seconds before a very grumpy, "What?" answered.

"Len!" Barry was thrilled that the Rogue had heard him. "We need to talk."

"It's midnight and some of us have to get up in the morning and pull heists," Len grumbled.

"Batman knows about Hartley."

"How?" Len demanded, suddenly sounding more alert.

"I don't know," Barry said honestly. "But he knows and he is not happy about it."

"What does he intend to do about it, that's what I want to know."

"He wants to talk to Hartley but he has promised to keep quiet about it until after the seven years are up."

"Small comfort," Len sighed then fell silent for several seconds before speaking again. "I know he's your friend, Barry, but if he hurts Piper in any way whatsoever I will kill him. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Barry replied. "I understand."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Barry hung up the phone and sighed heavily. There were days when he really, really hated his life.

* * *

"What was that about Piper?" Sam asked.

Len turned to see the other Rogues staring at him, angry expressions on their faces. "Batman did a little digging into Hartley. He's promised to be quiet though."

"Should we call Piper?" Mark asked, his wand crackling.

"Great idea," Digger said.

"We don't want to scare the kid," Mick said reasonably. "Besides, he's probably already thinking of a great way to get back at Batman."

"That's true," Len agreed and sat down on his bed. "We'll call him in the morning."

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: Oh and Piper's sister doesn't exist in this universe. Well unless you count the rat that he named Jerrie.


	11. Failsafe Part 1

The Rogues

Chapter 11: Failsafe Part 1

But, as it turned out, Batman discovering Piper's true identity was now at the bottom of anyone's list of important things to worry about it. Number one was now dealing with the alien spaceship rapidly approaching Earth. The Justice League had been dispatched to deal with the threat and all the kids could do was wait. Piper had decided to wait in his room and was talking to the Rogues.

"Are you sure you don't want us to kill Batman?" Mark asked for the fifteenth time.

"I'm sure," Piper said as he tightened a screw on one of his sonic guns. No harm in being prepared.

"Guys, Piper has it under control," Len said with authority. "I'm sure he can handle Batman on his own but all you have to do is ask."

Piper rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you guys be more worried about the spaceship than Batman?"

"Nah," Digger waved his hand dismissively. "Spaceships come and go all the time but Batman'll still be here."

"So who is he?" Sam asked curiously.

"I sued him last year," Piper said cryptically.

"You sued a lot of people last year," Mick pointed out. "I mean between Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor…" his voice trailed off. "Bruce Wayne is Batman?!" he yelped.

"Keep it down," Len hissed, pointing his gun at the other man. "We don't want our cohorts to know that we know anything about Batman. The last thing I want is to have to deal with the Joker," he shuddered minutely.

"So what's he like?" Piper asked curiously. "Is he is as cute in real life as he is on TV?"

But before Len could answer Piper's door was flung open and Artemis stuck her head in. "Batman, Superman, Captain Atom, Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel and the two Green Lanterns were just killed!"

"I need to go," Piper sighed, grabbing several instruments as he stood up.

"Stay safe," Len ordered then the conversation was terminated.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Piper grumbled then followed Artemis back into the main room. "Are you okay, M'gann?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

Piper eyed her, decided that it hadn't had time to register yet, and then turned his attention to the TV screen where Central City was currently the main story. Both he and Wally watched eagerly as Flash managed to rescue the reporter, Iris Allen only for the two of them plus Zatara get vaporized mere seconds later. "Cold's not going to like that," Piper finally managed to say.

"I can't believe they're dead," Wally looked like he was about to cry.

Silence reigned as the rest of the League, even Red Tornado, fell. Piper was feeling numb, he knew the symptoms of shock, he'd suffered through it before after all but this…this was surreal. How could the Justice League, how could the _Flash_ be dead? That had always been a constant; the knowledge that the Justice League would never fall, that they would always prevail. But if even the Justice League could fall then what chance did they, a group of teenagers, have? Oh how he wished he was back at the Rogues' hideout in his bedroom, listening to them bickering while he tinkered with something! Those days seemed very far off now like a dream that you couldn't remember upon waking but that you knew you'd had.

His musings were interrupted by Aqualad. "We are Earth's heroes now," he announced.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Superboy demanded. "A theme song?"

"We need a strategy," Piper managed to get past his numb lips.

"Piper's right," Robin agreed. "Earth's weapons haven't done any damage."

"Brute force certainly isn't getting the job done either," Artemis pointed out.

"A direct attack will not succeed," Aqualad said. "We need to determine if there is a pattern or if they are simply attacking random cities."

"Already on it," Robin pulled up a holographic display of Earth, the alien ships distinguished as red blinking dots.

"They appear to be attacking major cities," Piper surmised. "All except for that one up there," he pointed towards the lone ship in the Arctic.

"Did it get lost or something?" Superboy demanded.

"Isn't that Superman's Fortress of Solitude?" M'gann asked hesitantly. "Uncle J'onn mentioned it to me once before."

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" Superboy yelped.

"Green Arrow says it's very cold and boring there," Artemis reported.

"None of the Rogues would like it there," Piper sighed. "It's too cold and there are no ice cream trucks."

"Perhaps if we could retrieve their weapons we could integrate them into the Bio-Ship and use it against them?" Aqualad suggested.

"We could do that," M'gann said, thrilled to finally have something to plan.

"Dress warmly," Aqualad ordered. "We leave in ten."

* * *

It took Piper a few minutes but he finally found the cloak that he was looking for. Having spent six years living with the Rogues and (literally) stuck between Heatwave and Captain Cold he had finally gotten fed up, played around with their tech and developed several different cloaks. One produced cold air (it had come in handy in Bialya) and there was another one that reflected light but the one that he needed now produced heat, like a miniature heater. It was also fur-lined and had matching gloves that had been specially designed so he could still play his flute. After some careful consideration he grabbed a green duffel bag that was covered in music symbols and shoved several sonic guns, flutes and tuning forks inside. He hoped that he wouldn't need all this stuff but one could never be too sure.

* * *

Once at the Fortress of Solitude M'gann started things by using her telekinesis to rip half of the ship apart while Kid Flash ran off to take a look in the opposite direction. "Communications disabled," she reported. "As well as the repulsors."

Artemis fired an arrow which released a weird, gray sticky substance that covered the front of the ship. Aqualad used the distraction to jump up from the icy cold waters of the Arctic and wrapped his water whips around the rather large cannon. Robin and Superboy joined them seconds later and Robin quickly brought up a holographic keyboard. "The cannon's weak points are here, here and here," he pointed as he spoke and M'gann used her telekinesis to attack where Robin had dictated.

Superboy grabbed the cannon and began tugging. But as he did so, he failed to notice that the ship's weapons were glowing. Just as it prepared to fire Piper's shout of "Look out!" was heard and Superboy hit the deck, allowing the beam to pass over him harmlessly.

"It didn't give any indication that it was firing," Robin said worriedly. "Sorry, Superboy."

"You're welcome by the way," Piper called from his position on the ground. "Now can we hurry this up before it does that again?"

Superboy gave one final tug effectively freeing the weapon then turned to M'gann. She nodded and flew over to the cloaked Bio-Ship and placed her hands on top. A second later the ship became visible and she took the weapon from Superboy, placing it on the ship which quickly wrapped around the unfamiliar object.

"The weapon is now being integrated," she told Aqualad. "The ship can't be cloaked while it's doing that or use the weapons system."

"How long is that going to take?" Aqualad asked.

"Five minutes," M'gann replied.

"I don't think we have five minutes," Piper said, staring up at the sky as two more ships flew into sight.

"Can the Bio-Ship fly?" Robin asked as he adjusted the hood on his white parka.

M'gann eyed her ship warily.

"Never mind," Artemis grumbled. "We'll cover you until the ship's functional."

"Agreed," Aqualad said. "Piper, will your flute be of any assistance against the ships?"

Piper gave him a strange look. "No, but I have been working on some new weapons if Kid Flash would bring me my bag."

"Here you go," Kid Flash dumped the bag at Piper's feet, receiving a dirty look in return. "What?" he complained. "I haven't seen any other aliens besides the ones that are firing at us," he said lamely.

Piper shook his head in annoyance and pulled out what looked like a bazooka. "Let's help this works," he said more to himself than anyone else and fired. What could only be described as a sonic blast encompassed the ship, blowing up its cannon. Unfortunately smoke was now pouring from Piper's bazooka and he looked annoyed as he put it back in his bag. "Well that weapon's a goner," he sighed.

"You made a bazooka?" Kid Flash yelped.

"I made my first bazooka when I was nine," Piper sniffed indignantly. "But I really need to fix the…"

"Less talking, more shooting," Artemis yelled as she continued firing arrows at the other ship.

"Superboy, help Artemis," Aqualad said as he began using his whips on the ship that Piper had injured.

"Got anything I can borrow?" Robin asked, landing in the snow next to Piper.

"That was the only thing that I had that could be used against something that big," Piper replied. "The majority of my stuff is still in Central, including the weapons."

Robin sighed, pulled out a few birdarangs and started throwing. After a second Piper aimed one of his smaller sonic guns and began firing as well. Between that, Aqualad's water whips, Superboy's pounding and Artemis's arrows it was no surprise that they finally managed to bring down the injured ship but that still left them one, not quite so damaged alien vessel to worry about.

"The cannon is online!" M'gann said joyfully.

"Then fire already!" Artemis snapped.

But before M'gann could do anything the alien vessel fired and Artemis disappeared in a Flash of light.

"Artemis!"

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!

A/N/N: Random updates again after this people. Work starts back tomorrow and I can't guarantee a new chapter every day although I will do my best. On a side note, this is my favorite Young Justice episode because everyone dies in it! It's the best one to use in a fanfiction without a shadow of a doubt!


	12. Failsafe Part 2

The Rogues

Chapter 12: Failsafe Part 2

The mood inside of the Bio-Ship was, for lack of a better word, melancholy. M'gann had been sobbing for the past five minutes, apparently blowing up the alien spaceship hadn't helped her mood any. Wally kept sniffling and wiping at his eyes while Robin, Aqualad, and Superboy all sat in the corner and eyed the other two warily. And Piper? Piper desperately wanted to disappear inside of a mirror. There were plenty of shiny surfaces inside the ship, more than enough for Sam to pull him in and never come back out. None of the Rogues would call him a coward for wanting to escape the weepy teenagers or the aliens. His fingers twitched as he debated contacting them then sighed. He couldn't do it; he wasn't the type to leave people in the lurch if he could help it. The Rogues were nothing if not loyal, after all their motto was, "Once a Rogue, always a Rogue." Besides, as long as he didn't die then everything should be just fine.

"Should we go back to the cave now?" Superboy asked hesitantly.

"No," Aqualad said firmly. "The Hall of Justice. The people need to know that there are still heroes."

M'gann nodded and changed their course.

* * *

When they arrived the Hall was under attack. What appeared to be a couple dozen tanks and three dozen Marines stood in front, all armed and firing at the alien ships. Deciding that it probably couldn't hurt to help them, Superboy jumped out of the Bio-Ship and began tearing the ships apart while M'gann fired at some of the others. After the most immediate threats had been taken care of the Bio-Ship landed and the other teens exited, looking grim.

"General Wade Elling, US Air Force at your service," the stout man saluted Aqualad who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Aqualad, Justice League," he returned the man's salute.

"If I can hack into the League's computers," Robin muttered, obviously already thinking of a plan.

Piper rolled his eyes and played a tune. The soldiers all stood at attention and cleared a path for them. "Can we go now? And don't even think about lecturing me."

"I was not going to," Aqualad was the leader because he was smart enough to realize when to back down. And this was not a good time to antagonize Piper. Besides, the hypnotist had a point; they didn't exactly have time for pleasantries.

"Good," Piper stalked towards the building, some rats already trailing behind him.

"He's grouchy," Wally grumbled.

"We're being invaded by aliens and you're wondering why the guy's mad? And people call me dumb," Superboy crossed his arms, looking smug.

"I'm not afraid to hypnotize the rest of you," Piper threatened.

Minutes later all of the members of Young Justice were standing in the main entrance. The statues of the League members were all broken from where the ceiling had collapsed on them. Fortunately, the path to the library was still clear so Robin was already heading that way.

"I can't believe they're really gone," M'gann sobbed.

Piper awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry but we don't really have time right now. After all of this is over with then you can cry all you want."

"Easy for you to say," Wally glowered.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Piper's back was rigid and his voice icy.

"As far as you know your family's still out there, not dead like mine," Kid Flash retorted.

"Exactly," Piper hissed as he turned around. "As far as I know. I don't even know where they were staying so I can't zeta there and check up on them. They could be dead right now and I wouldn't have any way of knowing. At least you got that peace of mind."

"Arguing like this is not a good idea," Aqualad said smoothly, stepping in between the two redheads. "As Piper said, it can wait until after we've gotten rid of the aliens."

"Assuming any of us are still alive," Piper said darkly. "I've got a terrible that things are just going to keep…" he and M'gann both turned to look at the statue of Martian Manhunter. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Robin asked as he poked his head back in the room.

"Yeah," Superboy chimed in. "I didn't hear anything either."

M'gann didn't answer; instead she used her telekinesis to haphazardly throw aside broken statue pieces until they found her prize, Martian Manhunter sat there, rubbing his head in confusion. "Uncle J'onn!" she squealed.

"Wait," Aqualad ordered. "Read his mind first and make sure that he is who he appears to be."

"It's him!" M'gann cried. "It's really him!"

She and her uncle embraced, tears of joy running down her face while her uncle still looked confused.

"How did you wind up here?" Robin asked curiously. "We saw you get zapped by that disintegration beam."

"I…do not know," J'onn replied.

"Maybe you were density-shifting when you got zapped and it scrambled your brains?" M'gann suggested.

Piper frowned as he listened to the conversation. Something was definitely off about all of this and not just the whole invasion thing. The older Martian was acting weird and now Wally's eyes were lighting up in a very similar fashion's to Len's when he discovered that they made ice cream that tasted like coffee. Only trouble could follow. Then Wally ran out of the room at top speed, forcing the others to follow him. Piper just shook his head in dismay then left as well, albeit more slowly.

"I knew it!" Wally was bouncing up and down as he pointed at something on one of the screens in the Bio-Ship. "The beam that the aliens are using emits the same radiation as what powers our zeta tubes!"

He received blank looks from Aqualad, Superboy and M'gann. Robin had a thoughtful expression on his face while Piper just looked bored.

"It was a zeta beam that hit them!" Wally exclaimed. "That means that Artemis and everyone else are still alive!"

The look on Piper's face was slowly turning from boredom into incredulous stupefaction. Was Kid Flash really that dumb? Even Mick would have been able to tell the difference between a disintegration beam and a zeta beam. He briefly considered telling the younger Flash off but ultimately decided against it.

Fortunately Wally took his look to mean that he was impressed by Wally's genius. "All we have to do now is find out where they're keeping the prisoners and storm the place," he began bouncing again.

"We'll need the Watchtower computers for that," Robin said. "I could hack into them from here but it would probably be faster and safer if we did from somewhere else."

"I can authorize all of you to go to the Watchtower," J'onn offered. "But only one person can go at a time."

"Excellent," Aqualad was feeling much calmer now that they had a plan as they exited the ship once more. At least until the Bio-Ship was zapped.

"That didn't feel like a zeta beam," M'gann groaned as she carefully picked herself up off the ground, the shocking of losing her telepathic link to the ship momentarily throwing both herself and Uncle J'onn to the ground.

The soldiers began firing once more; at least until Piper blew a furious note at them and they abandoned their posts and retreated into the building with the new Justice League. Once inside they entered the library where Robin typed in a series of commands and one of the bookcases slid to the side.

While J'onn entered his own personal codes Wally came over to Piper and said, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, about your family."

"It's okay," Piper told him honestly. "Logically I know that the odds of their having survived are very slim no matter where they are but I will keep hoping until I know for certain. And who knows, maybe Artemis will still be alive after all." He still highly doubted it of course but since Wally was actually apologizing Piper figured that he owed the other boy something.

Before Wally could say anything else the disintegration beams began filtering in through what was left of the ceiling. By the time the Martians and Robin had gotten out over half of the soldiers were gone. Highly irritated at this point Piper literally threw Kid Flash into the actual zeta tube then turned to face Superboy and Aqualad who were still attempting to help the wounded.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Piper did his best not to sound upset but, so far, he wasn't having much luck.

Aqualad threw him an annoyed glance. "If you are that concerned for your own life then go on through."

Piper glowered. "I'm a Rogue; not a martyr," he said but he still shoved an injured soldier through first. "And Rogues don't leave each other behind."

The beams were getting closer now and there was no way they could rescue the rest of the soldiers. "Superboy, Piper, go," Aqualad ordered.

Superboy went through but only after Piper gave him a not so friendly shove. "Are you coming?" Piper asked.

"I'll be right behind you," Aqualad promised.

Piper didn't look so convinced but he went through anyway, feeling a little sad when he saw Aqualad get zapped. "If you're not right, Wally, I'm going to kill you myself," he muttered petulantly.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. Another death. But hey, it's Failsafe. What more do you guys want? A happy ending? Not going to happen. Oh and Trickster should be making an appearance soon. Not sure when but within the next six chapters or so.


	13. Failsafe Part 3

The Rogues

Chapter 13: Failsafe Part 3

"The first thing we need to do is figure out where they're holding the prisoners," Wally kept trying to peer over Robin's shoulder who was looking more and more irritated by the second.

"Based on these energy readings their mother ship is in what used to be Smallville," Robin reported.

"Great now all we have to do is storm the place and rescue Artemis! And Aqualad and everyone else," Wally added as an afterthought.

"Glad to see where your priorities lie," Piper sighed.

"How are we going to do that?" M'gann asked, having decided to ignore the two boys that had been bickering all day long.

"We'll need a distraction," Robin said automatically. "Something or someone that's powerful enough to pose a threat to them." Although he hadn't mentioned any names, his eyes lingered on Conner.

M'gann saw and immediately jumped to the offensive. "No!"

"It's okay, M'gann, really," Conner squeezed her shoulder gently. "I'm Superboy, remember? It takes a lot more than some dumb aliens to keep me down."

"But he's sacrificing you," her bottom lip trembled and her eyes filled up with tears. "Aqualad would never…"

"Aqualad is dead and we don't have a leader anymore," Piper interrupted. "If Robin sacrificed himself then you guys would probably get stuck taking orders from me."

"But…" M'gann still looked as if she wanted to protest.

"It's what Superman would do," Conner said and that settled it.

"Worst case scenario we set him free when we rescue Artemis," Wally said happily.

"There was something important that I needed to tell you," J'onn said dazedly.

"M'gann, we're going to need you to keep an eye on your uncle," Robin decided.

M'gann nodded in agreement.

* * *

For some strange reason, the new Justice League had decided that it would probably reassure the entire world if they sent out some sort of inspirational message about how everything was going to be all right. Piper privately thought that they were all a bunch of idiots but was assured that all he had to do was stand there; he didn't even have to say anything. He liked that part of their plan.

Miss Martian was the first to speak. Apparently sending out a redheaded, green-skinned bombshell made a great impression on people. "And though all seems lost the one thing that the aliens cannot destroy is hope."

"Hope survives because the battle is not over," Superboy said. "Not as long as even one of us is willing to fight."

"It doesn't matter how many fall for new heroes will always rise to care on bringing all their resources, their skills, their talents to bear to defeat the enemy," Kid Flash actually sounded like his uncle in that moment and Piper decided that Barry would have been proud.

Robin was the last to speak. "The people of Earth will survive this. We will rebuild and we will survive. Never doubt and never forget. The Earth will never surrender."

"Very impressive," Piper said once the broadcast through, still grateful that they hadn't made him say anything. "Do you guys have these speeches all planned out or something?"

"No," Robin sighed, wishing that somebody, anybody else was here instead. Why couldn't Piper have played the self-sacrificing hero? He wondered then almost snorted at the absurdity of it. Piper was the most selfish person he had ever met in his entire life and that was saying something.

"Can we hurry this up," Kid Flash whined.

"I suppose," M'gann still didn't look happy about the fact that Conner might die.

"All right, we're going in three teams. M'gann, J'onn, you're first. Use your camouflage mode to enter then Superboy while create a distraction while Kid Flash, Piper and I will go in. Our main objective is to rescue the prisoners' then blow up the power core. Hopefully that'll shut down power to all of the ships. Any questions?" Robin asked and found himself immensely relieved when no one did. "Let's go then."

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached Smallville, a fact that they were all grateful for. Kid Flash was wearing his black costume and Piper's cloak was so dark that he automatically blended in with the shadows, even better than Robin did. Superboy wasn't really made for blending which was a good thing seeing as how he was the distraction.

"Team one, go," Robin ordered.

"On it, Robin," M'gann grabbed her uncle's hand and the two turned invisible as they flew into the sky.

"Superboy, you're up."

Superboy let out a loud roar and literally charged the mother ship. Pieces of metal flew as he grabbed hold of everything that he could and pulled hard. Meanwhile Kid Flash grabbed Robin and ran as fast as he could into the ship while the aliens fired at Superboy, hitting him directly. Piper winced then followed his remaining teammates inside where M'gann was already sobbing.

"He's in here with the others," Wally attempted to console her.

Piper was ready to kill the other boy when he saw something that made his heart stop. Ignoring the others he stepped forward then knelt down and picked the object off the floor. He looked at it for a long while, already feeling the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"Piper?" J'onn asked, no doubt picking up on the various emotions coming from the teen.

"They were here," he said dully. "This is one of Len's guns. They must have found this place while they were in the Mirror Universe and tried to stop the aliens. They're dead, my family's dead." He stood up slowly, tucking the gun in the back of his waistband.

"They were just transported," Wally argued.

"No they weren't!" Piper yelled, suddenly furious. "They're dead, Wally. D-E-A-D. Dead. They're gone, and they're not coming back, any of them. Not Artemis, not Batman, not Len or Sam or Mick or Mark or even Digger. None of them are ever going to come back!" Stunned silence filled the room, broken only by M'gann's sobs and Piper's harsh breathing. "Come on," the hypnotist said at last. "I want to kill some aliens."

He stalked out of the room, the cloak swirling around his feet. Wally lowered his head in shame and sadness before following. After a brief hesitation M'gann, J'onn and Robin came as well.

"This is the main power core," Robin announced after leading them through a maze of corridors.

Piper could barely resist a shudder as he looked at the black and yellow cybernetic sphere like thing. For some reason when he looked at it all he could hear the word, _Apokolips_ in his mind and that freaked him out.

Robin began pulling explosives from his utility belt and placed them on the core itself. "This ought to do it," he said in satisfaction.

Piper wasn't paying attention though, he was listening for sounds. "Something's coming this way," he said urgently.

"How can you tell?" M'gann asked.

"I hear anything within a two-mile radius if I want to," Piper told her. "And whatever's coming sounds…robotic. I can't hear any breathing or heartbeats."

"In that case it's time to go," Wally said as Robin finished setting the charges.

But Piper was already gone, he had heard the tell-tale click of the doors as they prepared to close and he had no intentions of dying. Wally grabbed Robin and ran at break neck speed but skidded to a halt just as the doors closed.

"He left us!" the speedster shrieked.

"Um, Wally," M'gann was already in her dense mode. "We've got bigger problems."

"Much bigger problems," J'onn added.

Robin really wanted this day to end. As if the alien invasion wasn't bad enough now he had to deal with alien robots while being stuck in a room that was fixing to blow up? Worst. Day. Ever. "J'onn, get M'gann out of here," he ordered. "Kid Flash and I will follow once we've opened the doors."

"But you're only got ten seconds," M'gann protested even as her uncle literally dragged out.

* * *

Piper watched in silence as the ship blew up and bowed his head. No tears adorned his face yet although he knew it would only be a matter of time; although he was slightly relieved when M'gann and J'onn appeared in front of him, M'gann crying once more.

"Don't tell me we won," she sobbed. "The sacrifice was too much."

Piper was inclined to agree but thought it for the best if he didn't remind them that he was there, making an effort to keep his thoughts and emotions to himself.

It was at that point that another spaceship appeared, three times larger than the one that they had just blown up. Seriously? He really wanted to kill some aliens now.

"No," M'gann whispered.

"I'm sorry," J'onn said as he turned M'gann to face him. "But this is for the best," and with that he jabbed his fist through her stomach. The look on M'gann's face was heartbreaking as she slowly fell to the ground. "That wasn't supposed to happen," J'onn said at last.

"You killed her," Piper stated calmly, already pulling out his flute.

"She was supposed to wake up," J'onn said.

"She didn't but I don't suppose that it matters now." Piper walked past J'onn and stood on the hillside and faced the spaceship defiantly. "The Earth will never surrender," he raised the flute to his lips. "We may not be able to defeat you but you will never get your hands on my planet. Allow me to play my swan song for you." And with that he began to play.

* * *

_Empty space, what are we living for_

_Abandoned places, I guess we know the score_

_On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for?_

_Another hero, another mindless crime_

_Behind the curtain, in the pantomime_

_Hold the line; does anybody want to take it anymore?_

_The show must go on_

_The show must go on_

_Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking_

_But my smile still stays on_

_Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance_

_Another heartache, another failed romance_

_On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?_

_I guess I'm learning, I must be warmer now_

_I'll soon be turning, round the corner now_

_Outside the dawn is breaking_

_But inside the dark I'm aching to be free_

_The show must go on_

_The show must go on_

_Inside my heart is breaking, my make-up may be flaking_

_But my smile still stays on_

_My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies_

_Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die_

_I can fly, my friends_

_The show must go on_

_The show must go on_

_I'll face it with a grin_

_I'm never giving in_

_On with the show_

_I'll top the bill, I'll overkill_

_I have to find the will to carry on_

_On with the_

_On with the show_

* * *

As Piper played his eyes began to glow green while tears streamed down his face as he put every emotion he had ever had into that song. And J'onn could watch in horror as the Earth cracked wide open and exploded. Then everything went dark.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: I know Piper was a bit of a jerk and a coward but it'll all be explained eventually. I've been waiting to write the end of this chapter since before I even started this story! For those of you who don't know it's a nod to the 'Countdown to Final Crisis' storyline where the Pied Piper blew up the planet Apokolips via his 'swan song'.

A/N/N/N: The song is, "The Show Must Go On" by Queen and is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best song ever written. Ever.


	14. Failsafe Aftermath

The Rogues

Chapter 14: Failsafe Aftermath

It's a very dark and dismal place but, then again, so is his life so he can't really complain. Simple music flows through the place, music that could crumble an empire but now only calls the small creatures that have been with him for…he can't even remember how long it's been now. The slightly peaceful moment was ruined by the sound of something beeping. Only a little curious (curiosity killed the cat after all) he slowly got up and walked over to the computer which is now flashing red warning signs. "No," he whispers. "Oh, Piper, why did you do it? Why did you play your swan song?"

* * *

Piper sat up, gasping as tears streamed down his face. He had done it; he had…why was he in Mount Justice? A sinking feeling made itself known as he rested his gaze on the Young Justice team as they slowly sat up and realized that they were no longer dead.

"What happened in there?" Batman asked as he helped J'onn to his feet.

"The exercise, it went all wrong," J'onn sounded slightly dazed.

"Exercise?" Robin sounded slightly annoyed.

"Try to remember," Batman said. "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in but what you didn't know was that it was a train-for-failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still you were aware nothing was real including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"But that all changed when Artemis died," J'onn was standing on his own now. "Even though her subconscious knew it wasn't real M'gann didn't and she took over the scenario. Artemis, who was supposed to wake up after her death, remained in a coma as did the others who died. That was when I entered the scenario and attempted to wrest control from M'gann but I was overwhelmed by your collective emotions. It was only after everyone else died that I was able to remember my true purpose there and I attempted to shock M'gann into waking up before you permanently died."

His legs gave out again but fortunately Red Tornado and Batman were there to catch him. "Was it really as bad as all that?" Batman asked quietly, not wanting the children to overhear.

"Perhaps worse," J'onn replied.

"Yet this is not what troubles you," Red Tornado surmised.

"Make no mistake, my niece is untrained and cannot be held responsible for this-for our debacle."

"No one blames her but clearly we underestimated her abilities," Batman attempted to reassure the elder Martian.

"You understate it," J'onn corrected. "In terms of raw power, she has the strongest telepathic mind I have ever encountered. Stronger by far than mine. But what truly worries me is that even after I killed her in the scenario it continued to run. The only one left by then was Piper."

Batman frowned. "It is possible that he does have some mind control abilities. We did use him to help place all of them under hypnosis so that it would seem even more real but I didn't think that he actually had any powers."

"Batman, the scenario cannot enhance one's abilities, you can only do what you can in real life," J'onn said urgently. "After the others were gone and the scenario got worse Piper played something that he called a 'swan song' and blew up the planet. I saw it crack in half before it exploded and that's when we woke up."

"He blew up a planet?" if Red Tornado had been capable of it, J'onn was sure that he would have been raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," J'onn's voice was serious. "His abilities have also been under underestimated and understated. That boy is possibly more powerful than Superman. Should he ever choose to use his abilities for the wrong people…we would not be able to stop him."

And in all of the confusion no one noticed that Piper had slipped away while M'gann sobbed bitterly into Captain Marvel's chest.

* * *

Even when he was safely within the confines of his own room Piper didn't give into the urge to have a nervous breakdown (even though that's what he really wanted to be doing). Instead he began packing. Two changes of clothes (including his best cloak), a couple of books, his cell phone (he was smart enough not to give Batman the phone number), all of the money that Len gave him in case of an emergency, his favorite flute and Jerrie all somehow managed to fit inside of his green duffel bag. Then he threw on casual clothes and headed towards the hangar. He was smart enough to know that J'onn would no doubt inform Batman of his 'abilities' and since he didn't really want to spend the rest of his life locked away or get mind-wiped he decided that the best thing to do would be to split before that happened.

Once in the hangar he went straight to one of the computers and began entering commands. He heard a peculiar whining sound behind him and turned around. "Hello," he greeted the Sphere. "I know that you are afraid of me and you have every reason to be. But I'm leaving now and I don't plan on coming back."

The Sphere made a beeping noise.

"I've mastered it," Piper said coldly. "It can no longer be released unless I want it to. You'll keep an eye on the others for me, won't you? They were all right, I suppose. Oh and whenever your people come for you I would appreciate it if you didn't tell them about me. We both know what the outcome of that confrontation would be."

The Sphere made a noise that sounded like an agreement and rolled away.

Piper just shook his head and pressed the 'enter' button on the keyboard and the hangar doors opened. He walked out and didn't look back.

* * *

"Where's Piper?" Batman demanded after giving Robin a pat on the shoulder.

"I…he was just here," Artemis sputtered.

"Find him. Now," Batman ordered.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Captain Marvel said firmly as he released M'gann.

"And why is that?" Red Tornado asked.

"Probably for the same reason why the three of you were just having a conference that you didn't want the rest of us to overhear," Captain Marvel gave them a look. "Because he's a very upset teenager with a lot of power inside him and you are scared of him."

"But Piper doesn't have any powers," Wally protested. "Does he?"

"Leave, now," Batman ordered.

"How did you know about that?" J'onn asked quietly, ignoring the children as they filed out of the room.

"I know a lot of things that no one thinks I do," Captain Marvel crossed his arms. "Three years an inter-dimensional portal opened up on a planet called Apokolips. The wizard who gave me my powers ordered to investigate so I did. The planet was gone, it had been completely destroyed by a man wearing a green cloak and playing a flute."

"So an alternate version of our Piper came here to destroy Apokolips," Batman said slowly.

"Yes apparently Piper, both of them, are the vessels of something called the Anti-Life Equation. It was placed within them when they were conceived by a man called Desaad who wanted to use Piper to take over Apokolips. The other Piper managed to stop Desaad on his world but not before a lot of bad things happened to him and lot of other people. So he came to our universe and destroyed Apokolips before Desaad had a chance to do the same to our Piper," Captain Marvel explained.

"But he still possesses the Anti-Life, correct?" Red Tornado confirmed.

"Right and if Piper died before he mastered the Equation then it would be released into the atmosphere, destroying all life on Earth. But since he's obviously mastered it then he can no longer be killed," Captain Marvel said.

"Do the Rogues know about this?" Batman wanted to know.

Captain Marvel shrugged. "I'm assuming that they do, the other Piper did visit Central City before he returned to his home dimension."

"Oh this is going to be interesting," Batman sighed. "I suppose I should talk to the Green Lanterns about this, seeing as his power is technically from another planet that would fall under their jurisdiction."

"The Equation cannot be removed, Batman. The other Piper tried countless times but it is encoded in their genetics," Captain Marvel said gravely. "Ask the Green Lanterns if you want but I can assure that he cannot be contained unless he wants to be."

* * *

"Anybody else got a feeling of impending doom?" Mick asked as he dealt another hand.

Len glowered at his teammate. "Why did you have to say that?"

"Yeah now we're all feeling it," Sam also sent him a glare.

Overhead thunder rumbled and lightning cracked and Mark gave them a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"Just have another beer," Digger advised. "That usually takes care of it."

"Morons," Len grumbled but followed Digger's advice nonetheless.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: I couldn't resist throwing Captain Marvel in here; he's one of my top three favorite DC characters. Oh and Trickster should hopefully show up within the next two chapters and then he'll never go away! Ha ha!


	15. The Trickster

The Rogues

Chapter 15: The Trickster

Giovanni Giuseppe aka James Jesse aka the Trickster was not a very happy person. "Stupid parents," he muttered rebelliously as he kicked a soda can and watched as it bounced off of a garbage can. "So what if I'm scared of heights? That's no reason for them to kick me out of the circus."

"Excuse me but where are your parents?" a kindly voice asked.

James looked up and wanted to groan in exasperation when he saw a police officer staring down at him with a worried expression. "My parents? Why would you ask a thing like that?" he did his best to look as innocent as possible.

"Because it's dangerous for a little boy like you to be out here all alone," the officer sounded very condescending. James didn't like him already.

"James! There you are!" another voice called.

Startled, James turned around to see a kid his own age running towards him. He looked relatively normal in jeans and a green t-shirt as opposed to James's blue and orange striped shirt and jeans.

"Mom and Dad are worried sick about you. We really need to get back," the other boy gushed then turned to the officer. "I'm so sorry about this, officer, we kind of lost track of each other on our way to the arcade."

"Well all right," the officer turned and left.

"Who are you?" James asked between clenched teeth as the officer turned to take one more look at them.

"Your new best friend, Piper, now smile and wave until the nice officer goes away."

Once the officer had finally left Piper removed his arm from James's shoulder and ran a hand through his red hair. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "But I thought you could use some help getting away from him."

"Thanks," James said. "But how did you know my name?"

Piper blushed. "It's a long story," he said finally. "A very long story. I'll tell you over lunch?" he suggested.

"Sounds good," James shrugged and the two boys walked off.

* * *

"What do you mean, Piper's missing?" a very irate Captain Cold demanded.

Batman reminded himself that he had faced the Joker and won. He also reminded himself that Cold was halfway across the country. "That's exactly what I mean. We searched all over the base but haven't been able to find him."

"Is anything missing from his room?" Heatwave asked.

"I wouldn't know," Batman replied.

"Well what exactly did you people do to scare him off?" Mirror Master crossed his arms and scowled much like Cold was doing.

Batman hesitated but before he had a chance to say anything Captain Marvel cut in. "They shoved the kids into a telepathic training simulation and Piper played something that J'onn referred to as a 'swan song'."

"He did what?" Weather Wizard looked alarmed.

"Swan song?" Captain Boomerang looked confused until Heatwave whispered something in his ear then his eyes went wide. "You people are bloomin' idiots, ya know that?"

"I sent Piper there to keep him safe and this happens?!" Cold was literally shaking with rage. "I don't want to be stuck with a thirteen-year-old for the rest of my life! I was hoping that he would at least be twenty-one or somethin' first."

"Well technically it was all in their heads," Mirror Master said hesitantly.

"So do that mean that Piper's going to be immortal now or not?" Weather Wizard asked.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if that other Piper comes back and if he does, ask him then," Cold said.

"Have you been making any progress?" Batman asked, forcing himself to sound as confident as he normally did.

"Some," Cold admitted. "We think Luthor's finally going to reveal his end-game to us. Something big is going down very soon, I know that much. He's been consulting with the magicians an awful lot. I trust you're still going to keep your end of the deal."

Fully aware that it was a statement and not a question, Batman nodded. "Plans for the building are being drawn as we speak and the second that your mission is over I have your pardons prepared."

"See that you keep your word," was all Cold said before terminating the video transmission.

"Little intense isn't he?" Captain Marvel was smirking.

"Keep it up and you'll be stuck with monitor duty for the rest of your life," Batman threatened.

* * *

"Okay so let me get this straight," James said slowly. He and Piper were currently in McDonald's, the latter happily drinking a strawberry milkshake. "An alternate version of yourself came to our universe and told you that you were what? A god or something?"

"A new god technically," Piper corrected as he snuck a French fry into his bag where it rapidly disappeared from sight.

"And he also told you that I was important?"

"He said that you would be a very good friend and that you were scared of heights. One question though: are you homophobic?"

"Homowhat?" James blinked. He had definitely never heard that word before but what did it say about him that he was more freaked out by the word than the alternate universe stuff?

Piper grinned and laughed. "Homophobic means that you don't like gay people."

"Why would you ask me that?" James was eyeing the last of Piper's French fries and wondered if he could steal them before they went to the rat hiding in the other boy's bag.

"Because I'm gay," Piper announced. "And the other Piper said that the other James was homophobic."

"I don't really care," James said. "Technically speaking I think I'm bisexual so I'm good with you."

Piper's smile lit up his entire face as he beamed at James. "I'm glad. I don't I could like someone who thinks that something's wrong with me."

"What about your parents?" James finally worked up the courage to ask.

"Which set?" Piper asked then laughed again. "My birth parents would probably have a fit even though my father was technically partially responsible for it. My real parents, the ones that took me in, don't really care. It weirded them out a little bit at first but they said as long as I was happy, it didn't matter."

"So why did you run away then?"

Piper's face fell and he began idly playing with his straw. "When the other Piper came it was because I have something inside of me, something very dangerous. I used it earlier today in my head and I was told that if I ever did that something bad would happen to whatever planet I happened to be on at the time. I'm also supposed to stop growing now but since it was just in my head…I'm not sure what's going to happen now. I know my family's probably worried about me but…" his voice trailed off uncertainly.

"You just need some space," James said sympathetically. "I understand completely. My parents are total idiots, they kicked me out of the circus because I wanted to wear my flying shoes," he pouted.

"Flying shoes?" Piper perked up. "All I can do is hypnotize people for the most part and occasionally blow up planets."

James decided that it would be easier if he just ignored the last half of Piper's sentence and instead focused on the first. "Hypnotize people? I think we can work with that."

The two teenage boys looked at each other and began cackling and rubbing their hands together gleefully in that manner which announces havoc will soon be wreaked and would have had all the members of both the Rogues Gallery and Justice League running for cover.

* * *

"Did you…" Mick began only to get attacked by several pillows.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence," Len threatened as he picked his cell phone. "I'm fixing to call Piper."

"Is he even going to answer?" Mark asked worriedly. "I mean, he was pretty shook up when the other Piper told us what he could do."

"Good point," Sam agreed. "He cried for two days straight and wouldn't touch his flute for a whole week."

"I remember," Digger groaned. "We had to take shifts keepin' an eye on 'im. Longest bloody two days of my life."

"It can't hurt to call," Len interrupted. "That way the kid knows we don't hate him and to make sure he's doing all right."

"Hello?" Piper picked up.

"Piper!" Len grinned. "You okay, kid?"

"I'm…fine for right now," Piper said noncommittally. "I found James!"

"That's, ah, that's great, kid," the look on Len's face said otherwise though. Some of the stories the other Piper had told had been…interesting to say the least.

"And guess what? He's bi," Piper sounded so thrilled that Len couldn't help but feel guilty.

"That's great. How old is he?"

"My age."

"No sex," Len said, catching more than a few startled looks and even getting sprayed in the face as Digger spat out his beer much to his disgust.

"No sex," Piper agreed.

"Here, Sam wants to talk to ya," Len handed the phone over to Sam who, along with the other Rogues, proceeded to interrogate Piper about the 'no sex' comment. Eventually Len was given back the phone and he said, "You sure you're doin' okay?"

Piper was quiet then, "I'm not sure yet. I'll call back tomorrow if that's ok."

"Sounds good," Len agreed. "But first let me talk to this James."

"Len!" Piper whined but acquiesced.

"Hello?" the voice was cheerful yet appropriately wary. Good.

"You're James."

"And you're Len."

"What are your designs on my son?"

A choking sound came from the other end. "Um, none?"

"That's good," Len said warmly. "I don't care how old you are; if you make my son cry or the least bit unhappy I will kill you. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Tell Piper I said hello." And with that Len hung up, smirking. "I love scaring kids."

* * *

"So what did Len have to say?" Piper asked anxiously.

"He says hi and that he's going to kill me if you start crying," James relayed. "He was joking right?"

"Probably not," Piper sighed. "He and the other guys are really overprotective."

"That's a good thing, though," James argued. "They'd probably let me wear my flying shoes," he muttered.

"They would insist on it," Piper said.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked. Please read and review!

A/N/N: The Trickster hath arrived…and he's going to be here all week!


	16. Misplaced

The Rogues

Chapter 16: Misplaced

"I promise we're not sleeping together," Piper protested, his face even redder than his hair.

Len just ignored him and focused on James who resisted the urge to turn on his flying shoes and never come back down.

"We're not sleeping together," James could feel sweat running down his collar.

"Sure you-" Len and the other Rogues disappeared from the computer screen.

"Len?" Piper was on his feet, ignoring all of the 'quiet' signs in the library. "Len?!"

"Uh, Piper," James tugged on his friend's sleeve. "Weren't there some adults in here?"

Piper turned and slowly looked around the library. All he could see were a few frightened children who were wondering where their parents were. "Crap," he said. "We need to get to Mount Justice right now. The Team will know what to do."

"Okay," James shrugged and followed Piper as they left.

* * *

"Piper?!" Len shouted. "Piper, where'd you go?"

But there was no response, the screen was empty; both Piper and James were gone.

"Sam," Len said warningly.

"On it," Mirror Master disappeared through his mirror only to re-appear a few minutes later. "I couldn't find him," he reported. "And from what I can tell all of the other kids in the world are gone to."

"Luthor," Len growled.

"Can I roast him?" Heatwave's eyes looked even more manic than normal and the fact that Len wasn't giving him wary glances said everything that he needed to know.

"I don't think fire's gonna hurt that robot lady of his," Captain Boomerang grunted.

"Lightning might though," Weather Wizard's eyes were crackling.

"We need to find Batman," Captain Cold decided as he stood up. "The Justice League can help us get our son back. Sam?"

"Next stop the Watchtower."

* * *

"Any ideas?" Batman asked.

Zatara shook his head. "It would take a lot of powerful sorcery to do something like this," he replied. "I haven't had time to cast a locator spell yet, I've been too busy fending off calls from angry parents."

"Just ignore them," Batman decided. "We don't know anything now and even if we did know something it wouldn't help them."

Just then the computer monitor rippled and the Rogues Gallery stepped out, their weapons pointed at the two Justice Leaguers. "Where is our son?" Captain Cold demanded.

"This is not my day," Batman sighed.

"We don't know," Zatara said. "My daughter is missing as well as Robin and the other young heroes."

"We could care less about them," Captain Boomerang snorted. "Right now we're just interested in two kids."

"Two?" Batman raised an eyebrow.

"Seems Piper's picked up a follower," Captain Cold grunted. "But you can either bring them back or I can kill you and don't think I won't."

Batman looked into the other man's eyes and instinctively knew that he was telling the truth. "We're working on that right now. Zatara, locator spell, now."

"Sure thing," the magician agreed.

* * *

"Nothing?" Artemis asked worriedly.

"Nothing," Robin scowled at the computer. "No one's picking up at the Bat Cave or the Watchtower."

"Hey, Red Arrow's missing too," Wally stuck his head in the room.

"I contacted Atlantis," Aqualad reported. "The adults there are missing as well."

"I want my uncle J'onn back," M'gann was wringing her hands.

"Should we call Piper?" Conner asked hesitantly.

Everyone froze then turned to look at the clone who flushed.

"What?" he demanded.

"I would contact Piper but I don't know where he is," Robin said.

"If all of the adults are missing then that means the Rogues are gone as well," Aqualad said slowly. "No doubt he will be worried about his family and return here for answers."

"Why so he can whine and complain again?" Artemis grumbled.

M'gann shot her a sharp look. "I know Piper is annoying but his family is gone too and we need all the help that we can get."

"And we're assuming that he's going to come here?" Wally raised an eyebrow.

Just then the zeta tubes announced Piper's arrival and a guest.

"Speak of the devil," Robin grinned.

Piper walked in with another boy who looked like he had just run away from the circus, wearing blue and orange striped pants and shirt with an orange cape and blue pixie boots.

"Who is that?" Conner asked, his eyes slightly wide.

"Trickster," Piper said briefly. "Where is my family?"

"Trickster? I like it," the boy said cheerfully.

"You didn't pick that name?" Artemis asked.

Trickster shook his head. "Nope but I like it!"

"Family, now," Piper growled.

"We are unsure of where the adults are," Aqualad said. "We have been unable to locate them and have been broadcasting messages to the other children in hopes of lessening their panic."

Trickster blinked. "You're right, he is a tool."

Wally sniggered before managing to regain control of himself. "I think I'm going to like you," he declared.

"I don't understand," Conner stated.

"Neither do I, my friend," Aqualad looked slightly confused.

"Adults, now!" Piper yelled, his eyes glowing green.

"As you command," Robin's eyes were glazed over as he turned back to his computer.

"Piper, did you do that?" Trickster asked.

"He did mention that I wouldn't need my flute anymore," Piper said hesitantly.

"Great," Artemis said sarcastically. "I don't see how this day could get any worse."

It was then that another strange boy appeared. Thankfully, he seemed slightly more normal. "It really worked!" he sounded delighted.

"You just had to ask," Piper sighed.

"Quick read my mind," the boy ordered.

Miss Martian's eyes widened in shock as she did so. "He's Captain Marvel."

"He _thinks_ he's Captain Marvel," Wally corrected.

"Hello, Billy," Piper smiled as he stepped forward. "How's your uncle doing?"

"He was good," Billy said. "But now he's gone so I came to find him."

"He's telling the truth about being Captain Marvel," Piper said apologetically. "His uncle is a former con-artist and he used to come over and well it was kind of obvious after Captain Marvel kept 'escorting' him everywhere."

"I had to make sure he didn't get arrested," Billy protested. "Anyways when I turned into Cap I found myself in a world full of grown-ups. Obviously someone created a separate world for adults and children."

"Did you happen to find out how?" Artemis asked.

"Magic," Billy said simply. "It's originating from Roanoke Island."

"Then that's where we need to go," Wally declared.

"We need a plan," Aqualad stated simply. "Perhaps a coordinated attack with the grown-ups?"

"Sounds good, I'll tell the others," Billy said happily. "Shazam!"

* * *

The Rogues were currently glaring at the Justice League while Batman did his best to ignore them. He was debating about sending someone to the riot at S.T.A.R. Labs when there was the sound of lightning and Captain Marvel re-appeared.

"I talked to the kids," he said cheerfully. "Aqualad suggests a coordinated attack."

"That sounds like a good idea," Batman said approvingly, his mind already running through various scenarios.

"I saw Piper," Captain Marvel informed the Rogues who all straightened eagerly. "He looked fine and he was with some kid that really needed a new color scheme."

Captain Cold let out a sigh of relief and his shoulders lost some of their tension. "Thank you, Captain," he said honestly. "Can we go kill Luthor now?"

Batman wondered if he should remind Cold about their pardons (which were dependent on good behavior) and decided that protecting Lex Luthor was not worth the risk of losing his own life. "Captain, tell the Team that we will be ready to attack within the hour."

"You got it," Captain Marvel nodded then disappeared.

"Rogues," Captain Cold turned his face his men. "We take no prisoners."

"All right!" Heatwave cheered.

"Batman, we do want Luthor alive, right?" Zatara asked in a whisper.

"Do you want to get in their way?" Batman replied.

"No," Zatara didn't even have to think about it.

"We might be able to convince Piper to ask them not to kill Luthor but that's very unlikely," Batman said.

"You do realize that we can hear you?" Weather Wizard glared.

* * *

An hour later the various teams were assembled at Roanoke. On the adults side was Captain Marvel, Batman, Zatara and the Rogues. Piper and Trickster had joined the Young Justice team and they were ready to attack.

"Rogues, attack!" Captain Cold ordered and the Rogues charged the four sorcerers, their eyes bright with hatred. Even Batman winced as Heatwave set everything, including the ground, on fire. Mirror Master was leaping in and out of reflective surfaces, punching everyone then retreating. Weather Wizard was high in the sky, laughing manically as lightning crashed all around. Captain Cold was freezing people then letting Captain Boomerang hit them with explosive boomerangs.

"Why are we here again?" Captain Marvel asked.

"I'm really not sure," Zatara's eyes were wide. "I almost feel sorry for Lex Luthor when the Rogues catch up to him."

* * *

The kids, however, weren't faring so well. Despite all of them attacking at once (and even with some exploding yo-yos that Trickster had built back at the cave) they hadn't even succeeded in making a dent in Klarion's force field.

"Give it up, baby Justice League," Klarion jeered. "You'll never defeat me. I'm an immortal Lord of Chaos!"

"So?" Trickster yelled. "Piper here's a New God, surely that's better than a Lord of Chaos."

"A New God?" Klarion paused. "Luthor didn't mention anything about a god! So what exactly can you do?"

"I can do this," Piper's eyes glowed green as he lifted his flute to his lips and began to play. Klarion jerked then picked up the crystal in the center of his force field and began walking towards Piper. "The crystal is the key," Piper murmured then began to play more vigorously.

A swirling vortex appeared in front of him and, through it; Robin could see Batman, Zatara and Captain Marvel staring at them. In the background he could just barely make out the Rogues as they battled Klarion's cohorts. Klarion walked up to the vortex and held the crystal up.

"The crystal!" Zatara yelled. "Someone bring the crystal here!"

Captain Cold heard Zatara's shouts and grabbed the crystal from the center then threw it in the air. "Catch, Boomer!" he called.

Captain Boomerang caught the crystal then ran over to the portal and held it next to Klarion's half. There was a bright light and then the portal disappeared. Piper put down his flute and Klarion came to, shaking his head in annoyance. "I hate gods!" the evil sorcerer declared, then grabbed his cat Teekl and held him close.

"Piper!" Captain Cold called, worry and relief warring on his face.

"Len!" Piper's face lit up and he grabbed the Trickster's hand before running to his family.

Batman watched as the Rogues embraced the two young boys then was suddenly tackled by Robin who had apparently decided that it was overrated being grown-up. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel and Zatara went around tying up the sorcerers all except for Klarion who had disappeared.

Piper didn't even try to stop the tears that ran down his face as Len held him close, his natural chill feeling very warm for some reason. Once Len was through then he found himself passed from Rogue to Rogue before he was finally released, although Len still kept a hand on his shoulder.

"We were worried about you, kid," Len said finally, his voice gruff with emotion.

"Me too," Piper managed a watery smile. "This is James by the way."

"The one that he's not sleeping with," James interjected then yelped as Len pulled him in for a hug too.

"If Piper wants you around then I guess we'll keep ya," the Rogues' leader declared.

"Yeah it'll be super fun having two teenagers," Sam's grin looked a little strained.

"Dibs on the beer," Digger said, ignoring the dirty looks he was receiving from Mick and Mark.

"But seriously it's good to have you both back," Len said sincerely.

"And it's good to be back," Piper said.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: Sorry if it seemed a little rushed but this chapter just wouldn't come out right no matter what so I finally gave up on it.


	17. Batman's House

The Rogues

Chapter 17: Batman's House

"We're not going back," Captain Cold stated firmly, his arms crossed.

"Beg pardon?" Batman raised an eyebrow.

"We're not going back to Luthor," Cold elaborated. "After what he did there's no way I can face that man without killing him."

"Do you have enough evidence to convict him of anything?" Batman asked, not wanting to argue with the Rogues.

"Here you go," Heatwave handed him a flash drive. "This should be enough to send both Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller to prison for a very long time."

Batman eyed them warily then placed the flash drive into his computer. Soon he was scrolling through several different files and looking through pictures. After about ten minutes he turned and said, "This evidence will be sufficient."

"Great, now our pardons," Weather Wizard grinned and not in a particularly nice way.

Batman picked up the phone and began dialing. "Governor? This is Batman and I would like to collect on that favor that you owe me."

* * *

"So you guys are free now?" Piper asked while petting Jerrie.

"According to Batman," Mirror Master confirmed. "He said that our pardons should be coming in the mail soon."

"They send pardons in the mail?" James shook his head. "Who knew? Hope no one picks that day to rob the post office."

Captain Boomerang glowered at the teenager who simply glowered back. "Kid's got spirit," he finally announced. "I like that."

"So how long are we going to stay here at Mount Justice?" Piper asked. "I don't' necessarily mind it but I think the other kids are getting a little weirded out by the fact that they're currently living with five supervillains."

Captain Cold nodded in agreement. At least he wasn't the only one who had noticed the fact that the others went out of their way to avoid the Rogues despite the fact that they were now free citizens. "Well we need to do a little renovating at the hideout," he sighed. "Now that we've got two of you hangin' around we're going to need all the extra space that we can get."

"I can stay?" James straightened, a hesitant smile on his normally cheerful face.

"If you want to," Cold looked slightly uncomfortable. Talking wasn't really his strong suit and neither was physical comfort but he had gotten much better at it since taking Piper in. "We, ah, called your folks and they said that if you wanted to stay with us then you could."

"I think I want to," James said after deciding that he didn't really want to talk about his parents no matter what.

"Glad that that's settled," Cold looked slightly relieved. "Batman has not only graciously offered to pay for our renovations but to let us stay at his house."

"Blackmail?" Piper raised an eyebrow and Cold smiled.

"We might be reformed kid, but we're still Rogues. Besides he didn't really want his identity to get made public now did he?"

* * *

"But why are they staying here?" Dick Grayson normally didn't whine (that was left for little kids and Wally) but today he was making an exception.

"Because they somehow discovered my secret identity and are threatening to make it public unless I let them stay somewhere while their home is being renovated," Bruce Wayne replied.

"Couldn't they stay with Flash? They already know his secret identity," Dick pointed out.

"Barry and Iris don't have enough room in their home to accommodate five men and two teenage boys besides you're always complaining that you don't get to have any of your friends over."

"I think I'm good," Dick groaned. "Alfred, help me?"

"Sorry, young Master Richard," Alfred continued dusting the bookshelves in Bruce's study. "This house has been quiet for far too long. It will be nice to have people in it that don't spend all of their free time chasing down homicidal maniacs."

"You do know that Piper has pet rats, right? And that James likes to play pranks involving cotton candy?" Dick said.

Alfred froze. "Pet rats? Master Bruce, you didn't mention that."

Bruce glared at Dick who merely cackled. "It must have slipped my mind," he picked up a contract and pretended to be reading it.

"If those rats set one foot in my living quarters you will have to find yourself a new butler," Alfred threatened.

"I'll talk to Piper," Bruce said noncommittally.

* * *

"Nice digs," Sam whistled in appreciation as the Rogues stood outside of Bruce Wayne's very impressive manor.

"It would be difficult to set this place on fire," Mick said mournfully.

"No fires," Len said automatically as he lifted the brass knocker.

"I feel naked," Mark glanced around uneasily. He didn't really like the idea of going to _Batman's_ house of all places wearing jeans and a shirt that featured Storm of the X-Men.

"I don't need that image in my head," Digger snarled. He hadn't been allowed to have anything to drink that morning before leaving their hideout and was in a bad mood as a result.

"You guys are so immature," Piper rolled his eyes.

"And to think they made fun of my cotton candy omelet," James sniffed.

"Someone's coming," Piper warned, effectively ending the near-brawl between James and Digger.

The door opened revealing an elderly gentleman with white hair, wearing a suit without the jacket. "Good morning, you must be the Rogues. Won't you come in?"

"Thanks," Len grunted as they entered, mentally planning escape routes and the best place for an ambush just in case it was needed.

"It's even nicer on the inside," James's blue eyes were wide as he gazed around the front room.

"Shiny," Sam whispered, seeing his reflection on a thousand different surfaces.

Len grabbed Sam by the collar of his green shirt before he could jump in anything. "Cool it," he snarled. "And so help me if anyone says it's a bad pun I will freeze you! Mick, give those matches to Piper right now. And no one better not be casing this joint! We ain't robbin' Batman, understood?"

There was a chorus of "yes, Len" and Mick reluctantly handed his matches over to Piper who immediately tucked them in his pocket.

"Do you have luggage, sirs?" the butler asked politely.

"Yeah but we left it in the Mirror Universe," Sam grumbled. "For some reason Len seems to think that it's just a place to store all of our junk."

"Did you really want to carry all of Piper's luggage?" Digger raised an eyebrow.

Sam thought about it then shook his head. "On second thought the Mirror Universe is a great place to keep our luggage."

"Hey!" Piper protested. "I don't have that much luggage."

"Piper, most third world countries don't have that much stuff," Mark informed him.

"The circus definitely didn't," James agreed.

"You know we could introduce ourselves," Len pointed out. "Batman's bein' nice enough to let us stay here and the least we could do is not stand here in the foyer arguing!"

"Sorry," Piper at least looked contrite. "I'm Piper," he extended his hand to the butler who shook it graciously.

"Alfred Pennyworth," he said. "How about I show you to your rooms then you can retrieve your luggage?"

"Sounds good," Len glared at the other Rogues until they nodded as well.

Alfred shook his head in amusement as he headed toward the stairs, the Rogues still bickering as they followed him. "This is most definitely going to be interesting," he mused.

* * *

By the time Dick arrived home from school he was slightly irritable, the result of not enough sleep combined with a pop quiz. The fact that he opened the front door to find himself confronted by several rats really didn't help matters any. "Alfred?" he called. "I'm home."

"Ah there you are," Alfred appeared from the direction of the kitchen, looking slightly frazzled. "Will you please entertain Masters Piper and James? They got bored earlier and decided that they wanted to see what they could get the rats to do when using a flute."

"Can't we just sic them on Bruce?" Dick asked. "He was the one who let them stay here."

"Don't think I haven't considered that," Alfred sighed heavily. "Thankfully Master Leonard ordered them to stay out of both the kitchen and my private quarters. Something about it not being a good idea to piss off the cook," his nose wrinkled slightly at the vulgar expression.

"Where are the other Rogues anyways?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Alfred said. "They disappeared shortly after arriving, said something about having some old scores to settle and I thought it better not to ask. The young Masters are in the library I believe. Supper will be ready in two hours," and with that the butler disappeared.

Dick scowled then headed to the library. He hated damage control. Upon entering the library his first thought was that they had been invaded. His second was, _where did all the rats come from?_ Every single available surface in the library, the desks, the bookshelves, the floor even were covered in rats and they were all…dancing. Piper sat in one of the armchairs, playing his flute while James hovered in the air next to him. The rats all seemed to be swaying to some beat that Dick couldn't hear. Judging by his confused expression James couldn't either but Piper was also swaying so he probably could.

"Hey look it's the baby Batman!" James cried in delight.

Abruptly Piper stopped playing and the rats turned to look at him in confusion as if asking where the music had gone.

"Baby Batman?" Dick repeated, feeling the color draining from his face as his eyelid began to twitch.

"Go away," Piper scowled. "You interrupted the song."

"What song? I couldn't even hear any music," Dick protested.

"Neither can I," James sighed. "But apparently Piper's ears work on a different level from us lowly humans and instead he can hear the voices of the highly intelligent rat people."

Despite the fact that his tone was serious Dick burst out laughing. He couldn't help it; the expression of utter sincerity on James's face had just been so funny.

Piper rolled his eyes. "I already told you; the rats don't like it when you make fun of them and unless you want them to build a nest inside your esophagus you'll knock it off."

"Knock what off?" James asked innocently.

Dick could feel a headache coming on and he wearily massaged his temples. _I'm going to get you for this, Bruce,_ he vowed silently. _No matter how long it takes, you will pay for this. You will pay._

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!


	18. Dinner With The Rogues

The Rogues

Chapter 18: Dinner with the Rogues

Normally after a long day at work Bruce would go home long enough to grab a quick bite to eat before throwing on his Batman costume and patrolling the rooftops for several hours. But seeing as how Alfred had called and said that if he didn't stay home that night he wouldn't have a house left he thought it best if he did as Alfred suggested. Besides, he wasn't too overly thrilled about having the Rogues' Gallery camped out in his house although he supposed he should be grateful that the Top had retired years earlier; all of his research had suggested that the man was mentally unstable.

But all intelligent thought flew out his mind when he opened the front door only to discover that his foyer had turned into an ice skating rink. The floor was iced over and all of the Rogues (except Mick) were wearing skates and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even Dick had joined in and was currently racing Piper and James to see who could reach the safety of the dining room first. Alfred stood in the dining room doorway along with Mick, his face emotionless as usual.

"What in the world?" Bruce stared.

"Hey, Bats!" James waved at him happily. "We're skating," he said helpfully. "Want to join us?"

"No," Bruce said. "How exactly am I supposed to get across the floor?"

"Don't you carry a grappling hook with you at all times?" Piper blinked innocently.

"Not in civilian mode," Dick said, skating at to a stop. "It's kind of hard to hide them in a suit."

"Sam," Len sighed.

"Okay," Sam rolled his eyes then disappeared through the floor. A second later two hands reached up from beneath Bruce and pulled him down before re-depositing him in the dining room.

Bruce sank gratefully into one of the chairs surrounding the table and glowered at the Rogues. "Why is there a skating rink in my foyer?"

"It was either that or the stairs," Alfred sighed. "Both Master Leonard and I agreed that the foyer was safer."

"I can melt it for you," Mick offered eagerly.

"No," Len said firmly. "And no you cannot use your wand on it, Mark."

Digger shrieked as he ran into a wall headfirst then fell backwards and didn't get up.

"Again?" Dick sighed. "That man should've just stayed out with Mick."

"Well he would have if a certain someone hadn't called him a sissy," Piper glared at James who did his best to look innocent.

"What? The guy wears a tunic for crying out loud! If that's not sissy then I don't know what is," James protested.

Len just rolled his eyes and went over to help Digger up. "Mark, give me a hand," he ordered.

"Why?" Mark asked but skated over to Len and Digger nonetheless.

"This house is not going to survive them," Bruce muttered. "I just know it."

"I'd be more concerned about our survival, Master Bruce," Alfred confided in a whisper. "Young Master Piper spent the day summoning his little rat friends and they are currently roaming the mansion. Also, I believe there are cotton candy bombs hidden at strategic locations throughout the building including in your Bat cave."

Bruce's right eye was twitching as he turned to his young ward who chose that moment to skate over to him. "And why are you joining in this madness?"

"Because I had to spend an hour chasing rats out of my bedroom," Dick said. "Not to mention the fact that Alfred put Piper and James in the room next to mine and I'm really not looking forward to going to bed."

"Dinner is served!" Alfred called, interrupting the budding argument between Len and Mark.

* * *

Dinner was even more interesting than Bruce had thought. He had been prepared for burps, belches, no forks and even food fights. But what he hadn't expected was for the Rogues to actually have table manners that rivaled even his own! He wasn't surprised about Piper but the adult Rogues? Slightly unexpected. James ate with gusto but seemed to be following the others' lead.

"In case you're wondering it's all Sam's fault," Len said, having noticed that Bruce was sending him puzzled glances.

"What's my fault?" Sam demanded as he clutched his steak knife tightly.

"You're the one that stole that etiquette book," Digger pointed out. "And then Piper made us all follow it."

"I borrowed that book," Sam hissed. "It's not my fault that I forgot to return it."

"Tom Sawyer didn't have table manners," Mark pouted.

"But I do," Piper unobtrusively slipped his onions onto James's plate. "And you guys seemed interested in learning."

"You were crying," Mick pointed out. "And your rats were getting antsy."

"Speaking of rats," Alfred interrupted. "I trust none of them will be joining us at the dinner table."

Piper blinked at him innocently. "Of course not."

"What just ran over my foot?" Dick asked.

"It definitely wasn't a rat," James said brightly. "And there definitely aren't any cotton candy bombs in the bathrooms."

Len sighed and carefully sat down his silverware. "James, Piper, I expect all of the bombs and pranks to be removed before I go to bed. At the very least move them out of my room; you can booby-trap the Batcave for all I care but I better not get caught in the crossfire."

"No Batcave," Bruce glared at the teenage Rogues.

"Of course not," Piper said sweetly. "Why on Earth would I want to play a prank on the man who discovered my true identity? It's not like I was trying to keep it a secret or anything."

Bruce decided then that it might be a good idea to update all of his insurance policies.

* * *

After dinner he escaped to his study only to re-think his decision when he discovered that it had been overrun by rats. So he was forced to retreat to the main living room where everyone was gathered. Len was sitting in an armchair reading the sports page while Mick sat in front of the fire place, happily gazing into the flames. Mark was perched on top of the bookshelf, reading _Huckleberry Finn_ while Sam, Digger, Piper and James were playing Scrabble. Dick was on the couch, pouring over his science homework and Alfred sat next to him, pointing out interesting facts. Bruce settled in the other armchair with several contracts and tried to force himself to pay attention to what he was reading.

An hour later he was forced to admit defeat at actually accomplishing anything that evening as an all-out brawl had started between the Scrabble players over Digger's use of a 'non-existent' word. During the fight Mark had gotten knocked off the bookcase, landing on top of Mick who had not been amused and so the two of them were now wrestling while Len sat in his armchair and continued to ignore everyone else. Dick had also given up on doing his schoolwork and was cheering on Piper and James much to Alfred's dismay who had already stated that he wasn't cleaning the mess up.

"Aren't you going to do anything about your team?" Bruce demanded.

"Nope," Len turned the page. "I learned a long time not to get involved. As long as they don't hurt each other or break something I don't really care." A Scrabble piece flew by his head, hitting the wall next to him. "Watch your aim," he called.

"Sorry," Sam called back then managed to punch Digger in the mouth.

"You're going down!" Digger yelled then tackled the other man.

"Knock it off!" Len suddenly roared, standing to his feet.

Startled, everyone turned to look at him.

"This is getting out of hand," Len stated, his arms crossed and still managing to look intimidating even though he wasn't wearing his parka. "Throwing things is one thing but introducing fists? Not a good idea. Suppose of you'd hit Piper? Or James?" both Sam and Digger had the grace to look ashamed of themselves. "Now apologize to the kids then clean this place up. You made the mess; you're going to fix it." And with that Len sat back down and picked up his newspaper again.

Bruce blinked. He was…impressed. The Rogues were now getting to their feet and apologizing amongst themselves before they started picking up the Scrabble tiles and books. He was beginning to understand why other villains stayed out of Central and Keystone; they weren't scared of the Flash but rather the Rogues.

* * *

A couple of hours later Dick had finally managed to get his homework done (with some unexpected help from the Rogues) and they were getting ready to go to bed. Piper was currently hogging the bathroom much to the annoyance of the other Rogues and Dick.

"Some of us have to go to school in the morning," Dick groaned. "Can't you finish after I get done?"

"It's not my problem that you're as smart as me," Piper called from the other side of the door.

James laughed. "Good one, Piper."

"Your sister never took this long," Digger accused.

Len rolled his eyes. "Oh for crying out loud, you know Piper's only doing this to annoy Wayne and his kid."

"But why do we have to get stuck in the middle?" Mark wondered.

"It's Wayne's fault for not putting in more bathrooms on this floor," Mick said.

"Bruce!" Dick yelled. "I want some more bathrooms."

"I'll have a contractor come tomorrow," Bruce promised.

The door opened and Piper came out, followed by at least two dozen rats. "We're done," he announced.

"Were you brushing their teeth in their?" Sam demanded.

"So what?" Piper defended. "They get dirty teeth too."

Dick blanched. "On second thought forget it. I'm just going to use your bathroom, Bruce."

"I didn't use your toothbrush," Piper called after him then shook his head. "And everyone thinks that gay people are wimps? Unbelievable."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: I can't guarantee when the next chapter will get posted but I'll try to do it sometime tomorrow. Oh and I posted another story with Piper in it, also on the YJ page. If you have any suggestions about what to do in future chapters feel free to spread the love!


	19. The Scarecrow

The Rogues

Chapter 19: The Scarecrow

Fortunately nothing happened the next morning and both Bruce and Dick were able to leave the house in relative safety. Alfred was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen when Len stumbled in, silently cursing under his breath.

"Good morning, Master Leonard," Alfred greeted. "Would you care for some coffee?"

Len blinked at him sleepily. "Only if you've got some ice cubes," he grunted as he sat down heavily at the kitchen table.

"Of course," Alfred poured a steaming cup of black coffee then placed it and a dozen ice cubes in front of Len.

Len had just started drinking his coffee when Mick, Mark and Sam came in and immediately made a beeline for the coffee pot. "You're havin' coffee, Sam?" Len raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Thought you and Piper usually had tea."

"Well this isn't our kitchen," Sam pointed out.

"What kind of tea would you like?" Alfred asked, mentally going over the different kinds that they had.

"Just show 'im where it's at and he'll be fine," Len waved a hand then added more the last two ice cubes.

"I really must protest," Alfred said as he opened the kitchen cupboard.

"Nonsense," Mark said. "That dinner you made us last night was quite splendid besides you have to put up with us. So just sit down and let us make our own breakfast."

Alfred wanted to protest but soon found himself sitting next to Len, drinking a cup of tea while Mark and Sam argued over the best way to cook toast and Mick had been relegated to beating eggs in the hopes that he wouldn't burn them. Soon Digger entered and was put to work cooking bacon. The food was actually starting to smell pretty good and Alfred wondered if he might be able to convince the Rogues to let him have some. Apparently the smells had carried through the vents because James and Piper arrived right as the food was done, both boys looking like they could use some more sleep. Piper collapsed on the other side of Len, burying his face in his arms.

"Mornin', Piper. Sleep well?" Len asked.

"Bite me," Piper groaned.

"Good morning," James said brightly as he tried to steal Digger's coffee only to get his hand slapped. "What was that for?" he demanded.

"Leave my coffee alone," Digger ordered.

"Yeah, Digger's got a bad habit of spiking it," Mick said as he began passing out plates.

"Not my fault that it needs a little kick," Digger protested as he sat down a platter of sausage and bacon.

"Here's your tea," Sam handed the mug to Piper who gratefully accepted it.

The other Rogues sat out the other food then joined their comrades at the table. Alfred was given a plate and told to help himself. Breakfast was a slightly noisy affair, with the Rogues offering commentary on their food and about how Piper really should make an effort to get more sleep. They discussed their plans for the day; there was a music store nearby that Piper wanted to go visit and James had discovered the existence of a gag shop right next to the music store. So it was decided that Len and Sam would accompany the two boys while Mark visited the bookstore which was on the other end of town and Mick and Digger would remain at the mansion and try to keep each other from destroying it. So, after breakfast was over and the dishes washed, the Rogues all set off to do their own things.

* * *

"This place is creepy," James declared as he moved closer to Piper.

"It's Gotham, it's supposed to be creepy," Piper stated as he frowned at the map in his hands.

"Are you sure that the music store is near here?" Len asked skeptically.

Piper looked up from the map long enough to hiss, "Yes," before returning to it. "We should've been there by now," he muttered to himself.

"Sam, take a look," Len ordered.

"Got it," Sam nodded and dived into Piper's watch, much to the horror of a couple that happened to be passing by them.

"I think you're holding the map wrong," James observed then quickly hid behind Len when Piper turned to scowl at him.

"No I'm not," Piper looked furious.

"We've got trouble ahead," Sam reported as he returned.

"What kind of trouble?" Len was instantly wary and his hand automatically went to the cold gun he had hidden in his cargo pants.

"Trouble of the supervillain variety," Sam sighed as terrified screams and wails met their ears.

"Am I really supposed to fear a guy dressed as a scarecrow?" James asked skeptically as they peered out from behind a parked car.

"I've heard about him," Piper's eyes were wide and he looked a little scared.

"And none of its pleasant," Len added with a scowl.

The Scarecrow aka Jonathan Crane was standing in the middle of the street laughing manically as people staggered drunkenly all around him, screaming in terror. Some were curled up in fetal positions while others tried to attack each other.

"Suggestions?" Sam also looked worried.

"Well he doesn't seem to have any metas under his control so that's good," Len mused.

"He's got Mark," James pointed.

"What?" Len wanted to scream in frustration when he realized that that was indeed Mark standing a little ways behind the Scarecrow; a shell-shocked look on his face.

"Doesn't he have his wand with him?" Piper asked hesitantly.

Sure enough Mark was already pulling his wand out his pocket, rising up in the air as he began to call down lightning and hail. Len considered his options then pulled out his gun. "Piper, see if you can calm these people down," he ordered. "Mirror Master, evacuate as many people as you can. Trickster, get me to Mark. Try not to breathe in the gas and you should be fine. Rogues, go!"

The Rogues sprang into action. Piper began playing a soothing melody on his flute while Mirror Master pulled the people into his mirrors, presumably to take them to the nearest hospital. Trickster wrapped his arms around Captain Cold and flew him up into the air to face his teammate.

"Mark?" Captain Cold called when he was within hearing distance of the frightened man.

"Clyde?" Mark turned to look at him, his eyes wide as he gazed at something that none of them could see.

"Clyde's not here, Mark, it's just me, Lenny."

"And James," James added then ducked his head.

"It was an accident!" Mark protested. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Clyde."

"Clyde is gone, Mark," Cold said firmly. "He's gone and he's never coming back. But you're hurting a lot of innocent people, Mark. Piper's down there all by himself and he's scared, Mark, he's scared of you."

Something flickered in Mark's eyes but he kept a tight grip on his wand.

"I can't hold you," James said urgently. "You're too heavy."

And with that Len fell but he didn't go far, Mark was holding his collar, a smile on his face. "I don't want to scare Piper," he said.

"Glad to have you back. Now, who wants to go roast a Scarecrow?"

"I don't have any marshmallows," James pouted. "But I still wanna roast him!"

The Scarecrow was enjoying himself when he suddenly realized that he couldn't hear any screams. He looked around and scowled. "Where is everybody?" he hissed.

"Far away from here," the voice seemed to be coming from one of the nearby cars. "I took them all to a nice hospital so they could get treatment."

"But we did leave you a playmate," a second voice added. "And he's not too happy with you."

Scarecrow turned around just in time to see a fist as it connected with his face. He hit the ground hard and groaned. The sound of thunder caught his attention and he looked up to see a man hovering in the sky, his eyes crackling. Lightning shot from his hand and struck the Scarecrow. He screamed in agony as the volts of electricity surged though his body. The gentle sounds of music washed over him and he couldn't move as he felt himself being pulled through the ground. He could never give an accurate description of where he went as it was simply too…weird. Although it did remind him of a book, he just wasn't sure which one. Something sticky exploded in his face and he could see no more but it was very cold afterwards; so very cold. He was immensely relieved when he found himself facing a very puzzled Commissioner Gordon and immediately begged to be allowed to return to Arkham where he would be safe from insane Rogues.

* * *

"You called?" Batman landed on the rooftop of the Gotham City Police Department as he always did; silently.

"Yeah," Commission Jim Gordon looked a little confused as he scratched his head. "Any idea why the Central City Rogues are in Gotham?"

Batman froze. "What did they do?" he demanded.

"They covered in Scarecrow in cotton candy before encasing him in ice and left him on our doorstep, literally."

Batman blinked. Well at least they hadn't committed any crimes. "The Rogues are my guests," he said stiffly. "They claimed to have reformed so they're staying with me while I confirm their story."

"Uh-huh," Jim didn't look like he believed Batman. "Tell them I said thank you. Oh and I don't think you have to worry about the Scarecrow for a while, he seemed pretty shook up after we thawed him out but that could have been due to getting struck by lightning."

"I'll be sure to pass the message on," Batman disappeared.

Jim just shook his head in exasperation then turned off the Bat signal and went back inside.

* * *

A/N: Please read and review! Hope you guys liked it!

A/N/N: I'm not sure if I'm going to continue 'Impulse' or not but I probably am. I wouldn't expect any more chapters of anything until tomorrow night.


	20. Blackout

The Rogues

Chapter 20: Blackout

When Bruce arrived home that night the first thing that he noticed upon opening the door was the sound of music. It was very bright and cheerful, in fact it was so cheerful that Bruce felt an almost uncontrollable urge to follow it and participate in whatever joyful activities were taking place. However, he was able to resist the music and instead went to the kitchen where he found Alfred humming as he prepared supper.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked.

"I trust you heard about their little run-in with the Scarecrow?" after seeing Bruce's nod Alfred continued. "Well when they returned Master Piper thought that it would be a good idea to cheer everyone up with music so I believe that they are having a spontaneous dance party."

"Dance party?" Bruce blinked. "I assume you also gave them the antidote."

"Of course," Alfred looked insulted. "It was the first thing Master Leonard insisted on after their return although I do believe that both Masters Piper and James were disappointed that they missed out on going to the music and gag shops. But I think they're going tomorrow."

"Where's Dick?" Bruce looked around, suddenly realizing that his ward was nowhere to be seen even though he should have gotten home from school long before Bruce did. "Or is he dancing?"

"He's dancing," Alfred informed him. "The last time I peeked in there he was doing the tango with Master Mick."

"I did not need that mental image," Bruce groaned. "I am going out on patrol tonight."

"I thought as much," Alfred handed him a paper bag. "This should be sufficient to hold you until you return."

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce slipped out of the kitchen and headed towards the Batcave. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Shortly after Bruce left Alfred finally finished cooking and headed towards the ball room. The Rogues had discovered it earlier and were now making use of it. He opened the door and peeked inside. Piper and James were slow dancing while Len glared daggers at them from over Mark's shoulder. Digger and Mick were bickering even as they danced and Dick was currently Sam's partner. He hated to interrupt them; really he did but supper was getting cold and he had put a lot of effort into it and he was pretty sure that they must be getting hungry by now.

"Supper's ready!" he had to yell to make himself be heard over the music and a second later it cut off as they all turned to look at him.

"Wahoo!" James yelled, letting go of Piper and racing towards the door.

Piper scowled after him, his arms crossed as he obviously debated the pros and cons of hypnotizing James into coming back. Len put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "He's not worth it, Piper. You can get mad at him after we eat. I for one am starving."

"Fine," Piper grumbled. "But is he really that dumb?"

"Piper, he would have to be blind to not see that you've got a crush on him," Mick said as he came up behind him.

"Wait, you're gay?" Dick stared at the other boy with a sense of disbelief.

Piper threw his hands up in the air then stalked off, Len behind him.

"I didn't mean it as an insult," Dick called after him.

"Don't worry about him," Sam advised. "He's just a little annoyed with James right now so he's going to take it out on everyone around him."

"Does he really have a crush on James?" Dick looked slightly weirded out; after all he was the one who slept in the room next to the two of them.

"It'll blow over soon," Mark re-assured him. "He's had crushes before and none of them panned out."

"But this is the first time 'is crush 'as ever lived with 'im," Digger reminded them. "And is quite possibly interested in 'im as well."

"We're trying to forget that," Sam sighed.

Supper was quiet with both Piper and Len glaring at James who seemed oblivious as he chatted with Dick about circus life. The other Rogues and Alfred had opted to stay out of the argument and concentrated mostly on eating. But the peace was not destined to last long as James began talking about the female heroes, namely their better attributes.

"Batgirl is hot," Dick said with a dreamy look on his face.

"Miss Martian is way better," James disagreed. "I mean, she's _green_ for crying out loud."

"I wear green," Piper muttered.

"Not to mention the fact that she can change the size of her boobs! You cannot do better than that."

"And Len used to complain about _our_ bar stories," Mark murmured.

"I think those were actually tamer," Sam whispered.

"'e's a teenager with raging hormones, get over it," Digger grumbled.

"Well if he doesn't stop it soon I think Piper's going to kill him," Mick observed. "Either that or Len will."

Sure enough Piper's scowl was growing as he clenched the silverware so tight that they were honestly surprised it hadn't broken yet. Len wasn't much better as he seemed to be thinking of the best way to kill James and then dispose of the body. Dick had obviously caught on and was glancing nervously between the two as was Alfred.

"I think we should consider our emergency options," Mark decided.

"I've got matches," Mick said eagerly.

"We're not that desperate yet," Digger leaned away from him slightly.

"Blackout?" Sam suggested.

"Sounds good, I'll go find the breaker box," Mark stood up. "Excuse me while I go to the restroom," he said politely then left.

No one seemed to have even noticed his departure as they were all otherwise occupied. A few minutes later all of the lights in the mansion went out.

"What on Earth?" Alfred murmured in puzzlement. He knew the breaker box was working fine; he had just replaced several fuses that morning in fact.

"Blackout!" Piper sounded extremely happy.

"I'll go get the spotlights," Len sighed then the sound of his chair scraping backwards could be heard.

"I should check the fuse box," Alfred decided then found a flashlight in the kitchen drawer and headed towards the hall. Once at the fuse box he found Mark standing next to it. "Master Mark?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Hi, Alfred," Mark waved. "In case you were wondering I threw the power out."

"Why did you do that?"

"So that way Piper and Len would stop plotting James's demise," Mark answered. "When Piper was little and we had blackouts he would get scared so we would have to sit up with him. We were kind of hoping that this would be a good bonding experience with James. I did leave the power on for the Batcave, we're not that stupid."

"I suppose it'll be all right," Alfred decided.

"Thank you," Mark looked considerably relieved.

* * *

Bruce was just considering staying at a hotel until the Rogues left. First it was an ice skating rink, then a dance party and now no electricity. The Batcave hadn't been affected which was very strange and taped to the breaker box was a note that said, 'Don't turn back on'. According to the computer built inside his watch all of the heat signatures in the house were in the library. After taking a deep breath he marched over and opened the door.

The fire was burning hot (no surprise there) and there were two industrial size spotlights on either end of the room. In front of the fireplace the Rogues, Alfred, and Dick were all gathered around a Justice League Monopoly set. But they didn't appear to be playing, instead they were arguing over what pieces they wanted to be.

"I want to be Flash!" Piper said.

"But you've never fought him before," Sam protested.

"Can I be Batman?" James asked eagerly.

"I'm his partner, I should be Batman," Dick said.

"I will be Batman," Alfred decided.

"Fine I'll be Superman, no wait he's not that cute," Piper frowned.

"Not cute?" James looked at him in disbelief. "How you can say that Superman's not cute? I mean, he's gorgeous."

"And this conversation is officially too weird for me," Mark declared.

"Green Lantern is so much cuter," Piper sniffed derisively.

"White or black?" Digger asked then blanched when he realized what he had just said.

"They're both cute but the white one is a hunk," Piper smiled.

"I'm Wonder Woman," Len sighed. "How come no one's fighting over her?"

"Firestorm!" Mick yelled, cradling the little piece to his chest.

"We should have known that's who you'd pick," Sam rolled his eyes.

"I'll be Green Arrow," Dick carefully picked up the piece.

"Superman!" James yelled.

"Green Lantern!" Piper yelled back.

"Ah, Master Bruce, you picked a most splendid time to return," Alfred smiled at him. "Won't you join us?"

"Sure, why not," Bruce sat down next to Dick.

"They should make a villains board game," Mark said wistfully.

"We wouldn't be on it," Len grunted. "No self-respecting criminal would associate themselves with us."

"Superman!"

"Green Lantern!"

"I'm almost ashamed of it myself," Digger moaned.

"Brandy?" Alfred offered a bottle.

"Don't mind if I do," Digger eagerly accepted the bottle.

"Superman!"

"Green Lantern!"

"How long are they going to argue?" Bruce asked.

"There's no telling," Len sighed as he poured himself a glass of brandy. "They could argue for another hour or three."

"Or Piper could just start crying," Sam said.

"Fine, Superman's not as cute as you are, happy?" James said pleadingly.

Piper looked up. "You really think I'm cute?" he sniffled.

"Sure," James shrugged.

Piper grinned and, just like that, the argument about game pieces was over. At least until Sam and Bruce got in a tug of war over Black Canary.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: They should be leaving Batman's soon and returning to Central City. Also, a very special guest star will be making his appearance too!


	21. Leaving Gotham

The Rogues

Chapter 21: Leaving Gotham

When the sun's rays shone through the window next morning it was discover a very curious sight. Alfred lay asleep on the couch, Bruce leaning against it as Dick clung to his adopted father with an expression of absolute trust. Both Digger and Len were snoring loudly as they leaned against each other, Mark lying on top of their feet. Mick was curled up in front of the fire place, one hand stopping just short of actually touching the flames. Sam was laying half in and half out of a mirror while Piper was curled up next on top of James, his head resting against the other's chest. It was a very peaceful scene and one that probably could have lasted forever had Dick not cracked open one eye to see a rat perched on top of his hand.

At the sound of Dick's bloodcurdling scream several reactions occurred at once; Digger and Len bumped their heads together resulting in a loud stream of curses. Bruce and Alfred shot up, looking around wildly while Mark held up the Wonder Woman game piece in defense. Mick reached out blindly and grabbed Sam's foot who instinctively pulled back inside the mirror, taking Mick with him. James sat up, blinking owlishly while Piper covered his ears and groaned, "Too loud."

"Piper," Dick said slowly. "Why is there a rat on my hand?"

"Come here," Piper held out his hands and the rat immediately ran over to him. "What's the matter, Jerrie?" he asked soothingly.

"I'm going to be late for work," Bruce announced after taking a look at his watch.

"I believe that is your cue to get ready for school as well, Master Richard," Alfred slowly stood up, wincing as he put a hand on his back.

"So glad I don't have to go," Piper smirked.

"What happened?" Sam and Mick poked their heads out of a mirror.

"One of Piper's rats scared the baby Batman," Len grunted.

"My head," Digger moaned.

"Too much brandy," Mark said wisely.

"And that's why I don't drink," James grinned.

"That and the fact that you're not old enough," Len yawned. "Okay, kids, if you want to go shopping hurry up and get ready. We'll grab a bite to eat on the way."

* * *

It took them over two hours and even then Len was forced to confiscate the map but, eventually, they found the music and gag shops. James and Piper were ecstatic and spent the better part of an hour in each store much to the dismay of Len and Digger who had been ordered to accompany them as Mark was still a little nervous about running into the Scarecrow, Mick couldn't be trusted in a store where there was anything even remotely flammable and Sam said he had already gone on his shopping trip for the week.

"You sure I couldn't have brought a bottle of gin or somethin'?" Digger grumbled.

"Yes," Len replied through clenched teeth as they watched James finally get into the checkout line, his arms full of items that Len wasn't sure he wanted to identify.

"But why not?" Digger whined.

"Because Piper wouldn't be very happy if you did."

"Oh," Digger shut up. Piper's happiness usually indicated whether or not one spent the night listening to violent operas at top level or AC/DC at normal volume.

"We're ready," Piper announced as he and James walked to the entrance where Len and Digger were waiting.

"Finally," Len opened the door and they all stepped out.

They hadn't gone more than a few blocks when the sound of laughter reached their ears. It wasn't particularly nice laughter at all, in fact it sounded just like…oh no. Len's fears were confirmed when they turned the corner and saw the Joker standing there, Harley Quinn hanging onto his arm as they both laughed crazily.

"This is not our week," James sighed.

"But at least this guy is cute," Piper pointed out, his green eyes oddly bright.

"You are not crushing on this guy," Len hissed, glad that he had brought his gun with him once again.

"Well, well if it isn't the traitorous Rogues," Joker caught sight of them and his maniacal grin looked even more fearsome.

"Joker," Digger frowned as he reached for the boomerang he had tucked into his pants.

"Mr. J, who are these people?" Harley asked curiously.

"We, madam, are the Rogues," James bowed. "And might I say you look very lovely today."

Harley giggled and blushed. "Oh you're just the sweetest little thing ever," she cooed. "Can I keep him, Mr. J?"

"Absolutely not!" Joker spluttered. "You can kill him but you can't keep him."

"Hey you can't kill James," Piper protested. "Even if you are cuter than him."

Joker blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You think the Joker's cuter than me?" James looked annoyed.

"Infinitely," Piper looked at him in disbelief. "I mean you've the crazy thing going for you but so does he. And he has that gorgeous green hair," he sighed happily.

"I ain't no damn faggot!" Joker yelled.

Len scowled dangerously and pulled out his gun. "I dare you to say that again," he growled.

"I ain't no damn faggot," the Joker repeated.

"Oh you're goin' down for that," Digger raised his boomerang.

"How good is he in bed? On a scale of one to ten?" Piper was asking Harley.

"Well don't tell Mr. J this but probably a seven," she admitted.

"Only a seven?" James looked surprised. "I would've thought at least a nine for sure."

"You would think that," Harley sighed. "And sometimes he is but most of the time not so much."

"Harley!" Joker yelled, enraged. "Are you seriously discussing our sex life with two little faggots? Agh!"

Joker suddenly found himself flat on the ground, Len's boot on his neck. "I might not necessarily agree with Piper and James on their sexuality but I do support them. I want them to be able to walk down the streets in broad daylight and not have to worry about them getting killed by some bigot like you. They should be allowed to get jobs wherever they want and, heaven forbid, even get married one day should they choose and I plan on being there to see that happen. So, the next time you decide to do a little name calling make it ain't my sons otherwise I will hunt you down and kill you. Is that understood?" Len looked positively murderous and both James and Piper stared at him in awe.

"Aye, mate," Digger grinned. "And I'll help 'im."

Now the Joker was crazy, there was no doubt about that. But he had also survived this long because he knew when to back down. This was definitely one of those times. He knew Batman would never kill him, no matter what he did but this man? He had no doubt whatsoever that the Rogues would follow through on their threat so he nodded meekly and debated about trying to escape. His question was quickly answered when he was struck by something hard and everything went black.

* * *

Alfred was sitting in the library, relaxing with a good book along with Mick, Mark and Sam when the front door slammed.

"They're back," Sam stated.

"Took them long enough," Mick sighed.

"You know how Piper gets when he's in a music store," Mark said.

The library door suddenly opened and Len stood in the doorway, a look of pure hatred on his face. "We're leaving," he announced.

"Why?" Alfred asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't care if we don't have anywhere to stay," Len continued. "I am sick and tired of this city! First we run into the Scarecrow then some creepy clown and his girlfriend. And after that there was some guy wearing question marks and asking really absurd questions and a guy dressed like a penguin! I am tired of running into supervillains everywhere I go! Pack your bags; we're leaving in the morning!" he turned and stomped out of the room.

"I think he means it," Piper added as he stuck his head in the room. "He got pretty grouchy when the Riddler started making comments about him and Digger. Apparently everyone in Gotham thinks that the Rogues are all gay."

"I'm not gay!" Digger yelled as he followed Len.

"I'm bi-sexual," James said then turned to Piper. "Where are we going to stay?"

Piper rolled his eyes. "With Len one can never be to certain," he sighed then brightened. "Maybe we can go stay with Aunt Lisa! You'll love her; she's awesome."

"She's in Paris," Mark said.

"Oh yeah she's on tour right now," Mick smiled.

"Her house will be empty," Sam reminded them. "Len might be able to convince her to let us stay there until she and Roscoe get back."

* * *

By the time Bruce got home the Rogues had already finished packing and were in the middle of polishing off supper. "Are you really leaving?" he asked Len as he sat next to him at the dining room table.

"Your city is crazy," the Rogue growled. "I can't take any more of it. My sister's agreed to let us crash at her place until she gets back."

"Or you could stay at a hotel," Bruce suggested. He certainly wasn't sorry to see the Rogues go, true they were a lot of fun at times but the headaches they caused weren't worth it. "It seems that someone made reservations in your name at one of the hotels in Central," he handed Len the slip of paper with all of the pertinent information on it.

Len raised an eyebrow. "Can't really afford to pay you back," he pointed out.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it," Bruce assured him. "It seems that you've traumatized the majority of my villains, including the Joker which I had always assumed was an impossible task."

Len shrugged. "He shouldn't have insulted my kids," he said simply.

"I don't think he'll be making that mistake twice," Bruce said drily. "Will you need a ride to Central or is mirror Master taking care of that?"

"Sam's takin' us," was the reply. "You know, Batman, I'm a villain but even I spend more time at home with my family than you do. There ain't any point in bein' a hero if you ain't gonna spend time with the people that you're trying to protect."

"I will take that under consideration," Bruce promised.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked! Please read and review!  
A/N/N: This story is almost over. There should only be a few more chapters left and then maybe a prequel if you guys want, one that tells about the Rogues raising Piper. Let me know if you want to see that!


	22. Suprise Guest

The Rogues

Chapter 22: Surprise Guest

"Hotel sweet hotel," Mick sighed in relief as he collapsed on the nearest bed.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Mark followed his example.

"Lazy bums," Len declared as he entered the room next to them.

"Yeah I should be more tired than any of you," Sam chimed in. "I'm the one who had to bring you here after all."

Digger didn't say anything but made a beeline for the fully stocked minibar.

"Adults are all wimps," Piper decided as he laid claim to the bed next to the bathroom in the room next to Len's.

"Agreed," James nodded. "Who wants pizza for supper?"

Immediately he was besieged by requests and was forced to make them all slow down before calling in the order. After they had all claimed their luggage all they had left to do was wait for the pizza which turned out not to be a long wait as a knock rang throughout the suite.

"Pizza!" James cheered.

"What's wrong?" Len asked, seeing the pensive look on Piper's face.

"He's here," Piper whispered as Digger opened the door then froze as music began to play.

A cloaked figure entered the room, a flute between his lips as he kicked the door shut behind him. "Hello, Hartley," he greeted as he lowered the instrument.

"Hello," Piper said. "Did you have to freeze them?"

The figure smiled and pushed back his hood, revealing himself to be an older version of Piper. "I thought it best that we have a private talk first," he answered then he himself froze upon seeing James. He took an involuntary step forward, a look of utmost sadness on his face. "I see you found him," he said at last, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, have a seat," Piper offered as he scooted over on the couch.

After a moment's hesitation the other Piper sat next to him, pulling his cloak around him. "So how are you doing?"

Piper gave him a look. "You already know the answer to that."

"I guess I do," the older man chuckled. "I see Earth is still here so what did you blow up?"

Piper looked down at his hands as a couple of his rats began making their way toward him. "I was in a mental training simulation," he said at last. "Aliens were taking over and everyone else was dead so I played my swan song. When I woke up I found out that it wasn't real but I've been able to do other things since then. I can control people without my flute now if I want to."

"And you want to know if the immortality clause still applies," the other Piper surmised. "Do you want to be immortal?"

"I wouldn't necessarily mind it," Piper said after a moment's hesitation, "but I don't want to be thirteen forever. I want to at least be old enough to learn how to drive plus I don't really want to outlive my family."

"What if I told you that you make them immortal as well?"

Piper brightened. "Really? We can do that?"

"Of course we can! We're gods after all; we can do whatever we want. Now the aging thing, that's really up to you. I was already an adult when I became immortal so I had no desire to get any older. But be warned, once you have decided not to age then you can no longer do so. You will be stuck at whatever age you choose."

"Sixteen," Piper decided. "That way I'll be old enough to drive but young enough that I still have to stay with the Rogues."

The other Piper smiled down at his younger self. "All right then. When you turn sixteen play the song for whomever you wish to turn immortal and they will also stop aging."

"Cool. Can I ask you a question?"

"What?" the other Piper was wary, he knew that particular tone of voice, it meant a potentially personal and embarrassing question was coming.

"You and the other James, did you ever…"

"No, we didn't. He was one hundred percent straight. Why?"

"Well my James is bi-sexual and I've kind of got a crush on him and I think he's got one for me but I really don't know what to do about it."

Piper looked so miserable that the other Piper had to sigh. "Is this just a crush or something more?'

"I'm not sure," Piper admitted.

"Give it time," the other Piper advised. "Wait until you get older and then if you still feel something for him then act on it. But if not then it's for the best."

Piper smiled up at him. "Thanks, it means a lot to me that you decided to help me."

"You were the only Piper I've found so far that actually stood a chance of living a happy life; I owed myself that much at least."

"I'm sorry that you had a bad life," Piper hugged his older self. "If I could fix things I would."

"I know," the other Piper returned the hug. "I know you would. Have a good life, Piper; I don't expect that we'll be seeing each other again."

"Okay."

The other Piper stood up and played a few notes, a boom tube opening up in front of him. "Goodbye," he said then stepped through.

Once the portal had disappeared everyone suddenly jerked back to life. "Huh?" poor Digger stared at the closed door in astonishment. "Where's the pizza guy?"

There was another knock. "Pizza!" someone called from the other side.

"Piper, I trust that you have an explanation," Len crossed his arms and looked expectantly at the teenager.

"It was no one," Piper said. "Just a sad, lonely ghost that wanted to make sure everything was all right."

"And is it?" Len asked.

Piper considered and he looked around at the Rogues, at James and he smiled widely. "It is now," he said. "It is now."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked! Please read and review!

A/N/N: I know that this chapter is short and some of you might call it abrupt but really I think it's for the best that everything ends here. All of the further and previous adventures of the Rogues will be posted soon in the prequel/sequel 'It Takes 5 Rogues To Raise A Piper' which will explain how they stumbled across Piper and the misadventures they had while raising him. Stories involving James will also be featured and what happens to all of the Rogues in the future will also be discussed. I really hope you guys liked this story and I appreciate all of the nice reviews. Thanks again!


End file.
